On January 10, 2023, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced that Nikhil Wahi was sentenced to 10 months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. In July 2022, Nakhil Wahi was charged by the SEC and the USAO, along with his brother Ishan Wahi and his friend Sameer Ramani, for his role in an insider trading scheme in which he and Ramini allegedly acquired cryptocurrency assets based on material nonpublic information concerning which crypto assets would be listed on Coinbase Global exchanges. From approximately October 2020, Nakhil Wahi purportedly obtained the confidential information from his brother who was a product manager at Coinbase at the time. According to the USAO, on multiple occasions Nakhil Wahi used anonymous blockchain wallets and accounts to acquire certain crypto assets shortly before they appeared on Coinbase’s public listing announcements. Following the publication of the list, he sold the crypto assets for a profit.
The cases against Ishan Wahi and Sameer Ramani continue.
USAO SDNY Press Release | Judgment