Crypto user pleads guilty after spending $10m deposit error

As a seasoned crypto investor who has witnessed my fair share of market volatility and technological mishaps, I must admit that this story of Jatinder Singh and Thevamanogari Manivel is one for the books. Having navigated through countless digital currencies and platforms myself, I can empathize with their initial excitement upon receiving an unexpected windfall.


An individual who mistakenly received more than ten million dollars as opposed to a hundred dollar investment in cryptocurrency, finds themselves potentially serving jail time following Crypto.com’s discovery of the oversight.

In May 2021, user Jatinder Singh of Crypto.com tried depositing $100 into his account using a bank account belonging to his partner, Thevamanogari Manivel. The deposit was rejected due to inconsistencies in the names on the form. Unfortunately, an error by a local employee led to Singh receiving $10.4 million during the refund process instead of the original $100.

Assuming it was a payout from a cryptocurrency lottery, Singh and Manivel decided to withdraw a portion of their winnings. With those funds, they splurged on two real estate properties in Melbourne and purchased numerous gifts for themselves.

Seven months after the error was discovered, Crypto.com started the recovery process with the Commonwealth Bank. Meanwhile, Manivel stated that she had initially suspected it was a scam and moved $4 million to a secure offshore account.

Officers apprehended her in March 2022, just moments before she was planning to get on a plane to Malaysia, which was the destination for the money transfer she had arranged.

Martin Kozlowski, representing Singh, mentioned that his client admitted the money didn’t belong to them and requested the court to take into account Singh’s prolonged detention while deciding on the sentence. On the other hand, Campbell Thomson, the Australian prosecutor, pointed out that Singh’s instructions to Manivel indicated a potential criminal intention.

The judge in charge, however, did not concur with this view and stated that Singh was not a malicious figure. The court has set Singh’s sentencing date for later this month. Manivel is to serve an 18-month community corrections order. Crypto.com announced its intention to try to recover the funds that the pair spent in Australia.

On two previous occasions, Crypto.com has made an oversight. In 2022, a user was mistakenly given $10.5 million rather than $100. Before making any transactions with her sister, she spent some of the money. Following this, both parties were taken to court in Melbourne after Crypto.com filed a lawsuit against them.

Moreover, in 2022, Crypto.com inadvertently transferred $400 million to an incorrect Ethereum (ETH) account. The exact method used by the platform to rectify this situation remains uncertain.

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2024-08-03 01:24