Benzinga - Nishad Singh, a former member of the inner circle of crypto exchange FTX (CRYPTO: FTT) co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried, is reportedly in talks to plead guilty to criminal charges related to alleged multiyear fraud at FTX.
Quoting sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported Singh had been in discussions with Manhattan (New York) prosecutors about an agreement that might involve cooperating with authorities, which could further isolate Bankman-Fried, who is awaiting trial after pleading not guilty to an eight-count indictment.
The Manhattan federal prosecutors' office declined to comment, as did Singh’s lawyer, Andrew D. Goldstein.
Two of Bankman-Fried's former top associates, Gary Wang and Caroline Ellison, pleaded guilty last year to charges related to their roles at FTX and Alameda Research and are working with prosecutors.
Singh played a significant role in the day-to-day operations at FTX, heading the engineering team, and was instrumental in developing the exchange's software.
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Singh has donated more than $9.3 million to Democratic candidates and committees since 2020, including $8 million during the last election cycle, and gave $1 million to Mind The Gap, a political action committee founded by Bankman-Fried's mother.
Officials alleged Bankman-Fried orchestrated a yearslong scam that involved misleading investors and misusing billions of dollars of FTX customer funds for personal expenses and risky bets at Alameda Research, the trading firm affiliated with the crypto exchange.
Singh lived with Bankman-Fried in a Bahamas penthouse and was hired by Alameda in 2017 before establishing FTX with Wang and Bankman-Fried two years later.
He also contributed to the launch of FTX US in 2020. A proffer session attended by Singh in January doesn't automatically lead to a cooperation agreement, but it could pave the way for a plea deal with prosecutors.
A representative for Bankman-Fried declined to comment.
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