An Accidentally Sent And Wrongfully Spent Crypto.com Refund Of $6.8 Million Lands A Man And His Partner In Jail

As reported by Decrypt, the cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com is embroiled in a recent scandal after accidentally refunding a woman a staggering $6.8 million instead of the intended $65, leading to a sequence of events that resulted in criminal charges. According to NewsWire via YahooNews, Jatinder Singh's attempt to deposit $65 into his Crypto.com account through his partner's bank account in May 2021 was met with rejection due to a name discrepancy. Rather than making a simple refund to his bank account, a Crypto.com employee committed a "significant account mistake" by inputting Singh's partner's account number, resulting in the unintended refund of approximately $10.47 million Australian dollars, or about $6.8 million USD.

The error went undetected until seven months later during an internal audit, by which time Singh and his partner, Thevamanogari Manivel, had already spent a significant portion of the funds. The couple purchased two homes and two blocks of land in Melbourne, Australia, and even gifted $650,000 to a friend. Prosecutor Campbell Thomson revealed that Singh instructed Manivel to withdraw the money to prevent potential reversal of the transaction, although Singh later claimed that he genuinely believed the couple had won a raffle.

Upon realizing the mistake, Crypto.com notified Commonwealth Bank, which in turn requested the return of the funds. Despite initial suspicion of a scam, Manivel transferred $2.6 million to her bank account. However, she was apprehended while boarding a one-way flight to Malaysia in March 2022.

Subsequently, Singh pleaded guilty to the theft of $4.42 million before the Victorian County Court in Australia, with his barrister contending that Singh failed to comprehend the severity of his actions. Meanwhile, Manivel received a 209-day prison sentence, deemed already served after spending nearly a year in remand. Additionally, she was placed on an 18-month community corrections order after pleading guilty to recklessly dealing with the proceeds of a crime last year. 

This week, a judge sentenced Singh to three years in jail for his participation in the matter.