Man Pleads Guilty to Theft After Crypto Exchange Mistakenly Refunds Him $6 Million Instead of $65
A man in Australia has pleaded guilty to theft after a centralized exchange, Crypto.com, accidentally refunded him $6.8 million instead of $65. The incident occurred in May 2021 when Jatinder Singh tried to deposit $65 into his Crypto.com account using his partner’s bank account. Due to a name discrepancy, the exchange rejected the deposit but mistakenly made a significant account mistake and refunded $4.42 million instead.
This is not the first time Crypto.com has mistakenly sent money to the wrong address. In a similar incident, a woman in Melbourne received $10.5 million instead of $100 and went on a spending spree. Singh and his partner, Thevamanogari Manivel, spent a significant portion of the refunded money on buying properties and gifting a friend a large sum.
The error was only discovered during an internal audit seven months later, but by then, Singh and Manivel had already utilized a substantial amount of the money. Crypto.com contacted Commonwealth Bank to rectify the mistake, and despite suspecting it was a scam, Manivel transferred $2.6 million to her bank account. She was later arrested while attempting to board a one-way flight to Malaysia.
Singh pleaded guilty to the theft of $4.42 million and faces sentencing this month, while Manivel has already been sentenced to 209 days in prison. Considering the time spent on remand, her sentence has been considered served. Additionally, Manivel had previously pleaded guilty to recklessly dealing with the proceeds of a crime and received an 18-month community corrections order.
These incidents highlight the importance of accuracy and security measures in the cryptocurrency industry, as well as the potential consequences for individuals who take advantage of such mistakes.