Nishad Singh's defense pushes for no jail time, citing 'limited' role in FTX case

Attorneys for Nishad Singh, a former director of engineering at FTX, have asked the court not to impose jail time, as “his circumstances are extraordinary in every way that matters to sentencing.”

In a filing on Wednesday, Singh’s lawyers noted that he is “situated differently” from other former FTX executives and that he is an “uncommonly selfless individual.” His lawyers also submitted over 100 letters written by Singh’s friends, former colleagues and family members.

“Put simply, his role was far more limited than any other defendant. He does not minimize his conduct; he pled guilty to serious crimes at the outset of this case,” Singh’s lawyers wrote in the filing.

In February 2023, Singh pleaded guilty to six criminal charges, including fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He later testified against Sam Bankman-Fried in October 2023.

In another Wednesday letter to the judge, Singh wrote that he was “deeply sorry” to the people he hurt. “I feel overwhelmed and my gut clenches when I try to think about the enormity of the harm I have caused and taken part in,” he said. “Looking back, I knew how Sam manipulated the truth, and yet I still bought into many of his narratives. I chose to see things that were wrong as expedient or justified and things that were risky as bold.”

Singh’s attorneys also argued in the Wednesday filing that Nishad did not join the conspiracy at the heart of this case until September 2022 — just two months before the collapse of FTX — and after the core decisions were made by FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and Alameda Co-CEO Caroline Ellison to use billions of dollars in customer funds. “Nishad was not part of that conduct,” the lawyers added. “His role was almost entirely passive.”

Singh has also been cooperative with the investigations, his lawyers said. “As customers started trying to pull their money out of FTX, Nishad separated himself from Bankman-Fried and other employees as they put out misleading public statements trying to persuade customers not to make withdrawals,” the lawyers added.

Alameda Research was closely connected to the exchange FTX, both founded by Sam Bankman-Fried. Alameda functioned as FTX’s primary market maker, managing liquidity through the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies.

The financial entanglement between the two firms, characterized by FTX’s loans to Alameda, sparked concerns about conflicts of interest and potential mishandling of customer funds. In March 2024, Bankman-Fried was convicted on seven counts of fraud and conspiracy, resulting in a 25-year prison sentence. Last month, Ellison was sentenced to two years for her role in the collapse of FTX, which caused users to lose billions of dollars.

Singh’s lawyers said the court distinguished Ellison’s conduct from that of Bankman-Fried and recognized her extensive cooperation, but imposed a term of incarceration “in part to show that cooperation cannot be a ‘get out of jail free card’ given the seriousness of her actions.”

“That message is unnecessary in fashioning an appropriate sentence for Nishad. Nishad’s situation is different first and foremost because of his far more limited role in the charged offenses,” his lawyers also said.

Singh is set to be sentenced on Oct. 30.