A 39-year-old cryptocurrency enthusiast who splurged millions worth of erroneously transferred funds will reportedly spend three years in prison after pleading guilty in a court in Australia.
Local news site News.com.au reports that in 2021, Jatinder Singh tried to deposit around $65 into his Crypto.com portfolio using his then-partner Thevamanogari Manivelโs Commonwealth Bank account.
The transfer was rejected because the names did not match, but when Crypto.com refunded Singh, the exchange sent $6.91 million because a staff member mistakenly typed Manivelโs bank account number instead of the $65 in the refund spreadsheet.
Singh then went on a spending spree while Manivel transferred $2.64 million to her bank account in Malaysia.
Crypto.com discovered the mistake seven months later. Both the exchange and Commonwealth Bank contacted Manivel, who said she thought those were scam attempts.
Manivel was arrested at Melbourne airport in 2022 while attempting to board a flight to Malaysia with over $7,000 in cash. Singh, who was also arrested later in the same month, said he thought he won the money in an online competition.
Singh eventually told the court that he was aware that the money was not his. He was sentenced on theft charges for spending $4 million on property and luxury goods and gifting a friend $660,000.
On Tuesday, he was sent to jail for 361 days of pre-sentence detention. The period will be considered as time served and will be deducted from his sentence. He is eligible for parole after serving two years.
Manivel also pleaded guilty to recklessly dealing with the proceeds of crime in September 2023. She was given 209 days in time served sentence and placed on an 18-month community corrections order.
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