Nishad Singh hopes to avoid prison in FTX case

Nishad Singh, the former Director of Engineering at FTX, has filed a sentencing submission in his criminal case arguing that he should avoid prison in light of his extensive cooperation and smaller role than many of the conspirators in the fraud.

The documents detail Singh’s roles at Alameda Research and FTX, from almost the beginning of Alameda up until the firms plunged into a chaotic bankruptcy. They detail Singh’s narrative about how he was unaware of the misappropriation of customer funds at FTX until just months before the collapse, though this underplays his role in creating the infamous ‘allow negative’ years before. 

Singh, like other executives, also emphasized that it was recommended to him that he take large, poorly documented loans from Alameda instead of liquidating his tokens to fund his activities. Among his activities described as “regrettable” was the purchase of a multi-million dollar vacation home after he was aware of the theft occurring at FTX. 

Additionally, the document emphasizes how Singh was responsible for providing much of the documentary evidence that prosecutors relied on, including “taking screenshots of Signal messages” that provided context to the prosecution and at trial of the final days of FTX and Alameda.

Read more: CHART: Everyone sentenced from FTX and Alameda

This level of cooperation was recognized by other executives of FTX. Indeed, Ryan Salame once tweeted that Singh “absolutely wrecked him” but that he still had to acknowledge that Singh was “one of the most genuinely nice human beings I’ve ever met.”

This cooperation extended beyond FTX and Alameda Research to “virtual interviews with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding separate inquiries (nor directly related to FTX’s downfall) on three separate occasions, and produced documents in his possession relevant to those inquiries.

Also, just this month, Singh sat for a virtual interview with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to assist them with a separate, nonpublic investigation.”

This document, meant to gain Singh whatever leniency it can, repeatedly emphasized the purity of his intentions and his many good works. There are letters included from friends, family, and former FTX colleagues, many with stories of Singh’s generosity. 

The document also detailed how Singh tried to dissuade Sam Bankman-Fried from some of his more exceptional spending activities, including reportedly balking at the K5 investment deal and encouraging FTX to end the irresponsible FTX Earn lending program.

Singh’s sentencing is currently scheduled for October 30. 

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