The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has settled a dispute with former Coinbase product manager Ishan Wahi and his brother Nikhil Wahi. The agency said it has no further claims in the case.
Recall that the brothers were involved in an insider trading scheme. Ishaan, as an ex-manager, had access to information about which tokens would soon be listed. And his brother set up an account and procured such assets in advance.
The listing procedure on the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange usually leads to an increase in the value of the token. Therefore, the Wahi brothers sold them after the rise.
According to SEC documents, Nikhil and Ishan bought at least 25 crypto assets, nine of which (AMP, RLY, DDX, XYO, RGT, LCX, POWR, DFX and KROM) were securities. That was the crux of the commission’s lawsuit-they accused the brothers of insider trading in securities. The men made a profit of about $1.1 million on these coins.
The brothers agreed to part with the “dishonestly gained” income and pay a fine. They also pleaded guilty to the Justice Department’s wire fraud charge. Ishan Wahi will serve a two-year sentence, while Nikhil will serve a 10-month sentence. Ishan must also pay back 10.97 ETH and 9,440 USDT Stablecoins. Nikhil will pay a fine of $892,500.