Nate Chastain, a former product manager of NFT marketplace OpenSea, was charged by the FBI for the first-ever “Digital Asset Insider Trading Scheme.”
Read CRYPTONEWSLAND onThe announcement was made in a press release by a US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams and Assistant Director-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the FBI Michael J. Driscoll.
In detail, Chastain was charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering in connection with a scheme to commit NFTs insider trading. Each charge carries a maximum sentence up to 20 years in prison.
For his personal financial gain, he used private information from June 2021 to September 2021 about what NFTs were going to be featured on the homepage of OpenSea and sold them two to five times the initial price. He then concealed the fraud by conducting purchases and sales using anonymous wallets and accounts on OpenSea.
FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Driscoll emphasized that:
With the emergence of any new investment tool, such as blockchain supported non-fungible tokens, there are those who will exploit vulnerabilities for their own gain. The FBI will continue to aggressively pursue actors who choose to manipulate the market in this way
Chastain was arrested earlier today in New York and will be presented in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.
#Binance Labs supports Magic Square's new #IDOplatform focusing on equitable #Web3 investment access.#MagicSquare
Q1 2024: #XRP spot trading volumes soared 40% to $865M, showcasing resilience amid ongoing SEC…
🚀 Tether's $1B Boost Propels Bitcoin to $73K! 📈 What's Driving the Surge? Find out…
#Ethereum's #VitalikButerin focuses on innovations like PeerDAS, Verkle Tree, & lowering MEV to enhance #blockchain…
🚀 Crypto Surge Alert! DOGE, XRP, and LINK lead the charge! Will DOGE hit $0.49?…
#ShibaInu warns: No official #SHIB airdrops exist. Scammers target users with fake offers. Verify links…