Australian Jailed After Spending Millions From Accidental Crypto.com Refund

An Australian man whose partner was accidentally refunded millions of dollars by Crypto.com has been jailed after embarking on a “flurry” of spending.

Jatinder Singh, 39, has been sentenced to serve three years in jail by the County Court of Victoria after pleading guilty to the theft of $4.4 million, per reports in local news media.

In May 2021, Singh tried to deposit AU$100 ($65) into his Crypto.com account back in May 2021 using the bank account of his partner Thevamanogari Manivel, 41.

The crypto exchange rejected the deposit owing to the name discrepancy between the exchange and bank account, but a “significant accounting mistake” saw a staff member accidentally typed Manivel’s account number into the spreadsheet field for the value of the refund—resulting in her being sent AU$10.47 million (around $6.8 million).

Singh then had Manivel transfer the funds to the couple’s joint account in a bid to avoid the transaction being reversed, after which they embarked on a “flurry” of spending during which Manivel transferred AU$4 million to her bank account in Malaysia.

An internal audit uncovered the error seven months later, by which time Singh and Manivel had already spent much of the money on purchases including luxury goods, homes, land in Melbourne, Australia, and a AU$1 million gift to a friend.

Crypto.com and Commonwealth Bank repeatedly attempted to contact the couple, who later claimed that they thought the exchange’s efforts at outreach were scam attempts.

Manivel was arrested attempting to board a one-way flight to Malaysia in March 2022, while Singh was arrested later that month, claiming he “honestly believed” that he had won the money in an online raffle.

“At least reckless”

In sentencing, Judge Martine Marich described Singh’s actions as “at least reckless,” adding that his actions were “precipitated by the most extraordinary of circumstances.”

Singh was sentenced to three years in jail, with 361 days of presentence detention recognized as time served, and will be eligible for parole after serving two years.

Manivel was previously sentenced to 209 days in prison, but the court considered her sentence already served following almost a year on remand. She was also placed on an 18-month community corrections order last year after pleading guilty to recklessly dealing with the proceeds of a crime.

Edited by Stacy Elliott.