A Washington resident has been found guilty of embezzling $35 million for cryptocurrency investments.
Date: 2025-11-14 Author: Gabriel Deangelo Categories: IN WORLD
In March 2021, 41-year-old Nevin Shetty took over as CFO of Fabric, which was then actively raising capital for expansion. His task was to securely and conservatively manage the funds raised. However, by early 2022, Shetty exceeded his authority and, without management permission, transferred a large sum of corporate funds to his own startup, HighTower Treasury, as well as to several DeFi platforms promising returns of approximately 20% per annum.
Shetty's scheme envisioned the company receiving only 6% profit, and he planned to accumulate the difference in HighTower. During the first month, this strategy actually yielded around $133,000. But by May 2022, his experiment ended in disaster: the cryptocurrency market experienced a massive crash due to the collapse of the UST stablecoin and the LUNA token in the Terra ecosystem, and his investments were completely worthless.
Following the financial collapse, Shetty confessed to colleagues to the unauthorized use of corporate assets. The company promptly fired him and reported the incident to the FBI. In May 2023, formal charges were filed against him. The case is currently in its final stages: Judge Tana Lin has set the sentencing date for February 11, 2026. Under U.S. law, wire fraud can carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years.
Investigators note that Shetty's actions are not an exception. Several years ago, a similar crime was committed by former Deutsche Bank employee Rashawn Russell, who told clients that his cryptocurrency investment strategies guaranteed a stable income. In reality, he embezzled investors' funds and used them for personal gain.
Shetty's story highlights how vulnerable companies remain to internal abuse, especially in the rapidly evolving digital asset market. It also demonstrates the risks associated with the pursuit of high returns and attempts to use corporate resources to engage in aggressive investment schemes without the oversight and approval of management.
