Australian prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence for a Cryptocom user who accidentally received almost $7 million and spent most of it before the exchange realised it had made an internal error three years ago. The event occurred in May 2021, with Crypto.com mistakenly sending 10.47 million Australian dollars, about $6.86 million, to an Australian couple, Thevamanogari Manivel and Jatinder Singh, instead of the intended 100 AU$ refund due to an employee’s mistake.
This error was uncovered during an internal audit in December 2021. By then, Singh had spent money on several houses and given his friend 1 million AU$. Singh said that he thought he had won some kind of online lottery—a statement that opened a legal can of worms and now solicits demands from prosecutors seeking jail time.
Background of the Incident
It all began when an employee at Crypto.com accidentally entered an account number into the payment section of an Excel spreadsheet, immediately transferring 10.47 million Australian dollars to the Cryptocom user, Thevamanogari Manivel, and her partner, Jatinder Singh. They spent their money in a rush, thinking their luck had finally changed. He bought several properties and gave away a lot of the money, including giving 1 million AU to one friend as a gift.
Cryptocom detected the error during an internal audit in December 2021. The exchange hastened to recover the funds but found that a vast majority had already been spent by then. This resulted in legal action against Cryptocom user Manivel and Singh. Thus, the prosecution contended that the sheer magnitude of the error and such consequent spending called for a jail sentence.
Prosecutor’s Argument for Imprisonment
During a recent hearing in court, Australian prosecutor Campbell Thomson objected on August 2, 2024: For such a big amount of money, the incident cannot turn into a mere crime of opportunity. He insisted that Cryptocom user Jatinder Singh needs to go to jail to set an appropriate deterrent for the offence.
“It may not be that you send him to jail for very long after taking into account his presentence detention,” said Thomson. This is against the prosecution’s argument that the seriousness of the offence, coupled with the massive amount of cash mistakenly received and spent, calls for a custodial sentence.
Defence’s Counterarguments
However, Singh’s lawyer, Martin Kozlowski, said that Singh, the Cryptocom user did not realize the severity of his actions. Kozlowski said that he believed the money was from a multinational company that didn’t realize that money was missing for months until an audit was conducted, placing Singh in a tight spot.
“It must be taken into account the funds here came from a multinational that didn’t even know the funds were gone until an audit sometime later”, argued Kozlowski. He further said nobody knew how they would react to a similar situation. Thus, Singh the Crypto.com user did not act unreasonably.
Concerns About Flight Risk
It was reported that prosecutors were apprehensive of Singh attempting to flee the country since he had huge financial gains from it, and only $4.9 million of those funds were recovered, out of which some money had already been transferred abroad. It added a couple of legal complications and increased the prosecution’s demand for a stiff sentence to prevent escape.
Co-accused Thevamanogari Manivel of Singh had already been punished. In September 2023, she was sentenced to almost seven months in jail, time already served. She was ordered to an 18-month community corrections order after she pleaded guilty to recklessly dealing with the proceeds of crime.
Conclusion
The case of the Crypto.com user who received $6.8 million by mistake highlights the complexities of handling significant financial errors in the digital age. The ongoing legal battle underscores the necessity for stringent measures and clear regulations to prevent and address such incidents. The outcome will set a precedent for similar cases as the court prepares to sentence Jatinder Singh in September. Tune into the Turkishnyradio for more updates and news on the crypto world.
