A Seattle judge has sentenced former startup chief financial officer Nevin Shetty to two years in prison after a jury found him guilty of wire fraud for secretly transferring roughly $35 million in corporate funds to a cryptocurrency operation he controlled.
The U.S. Justice Department says Shetty moved the money in 2022 into HighTower Treasury, a side business under his control, and deployed it into high-yield decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocols that advertised returns of 20% or more. Shetty initially reported about $133,000 in gains during the first month, but the collapse of the Terra ecosystem and a broader downturn in crypto markets sharply reduced the value of those positions. By May 13, 2022, the DOJ says the investments were essentially worthless.
Prosecutors said the transfers were made without informing other executives or the company’s board. After the funds lost value, Shetty admitted the transfers to two fellow executives and was terminated immediately. He was indicted on wire fraud charges in May 2023 and, following a nine-day jury trial, was convicted on four counts in November 2025.
In addition to the prison term, the sentence requires Shetty to repay the misappropriated funds and to serve three years of supervised release after completing his incarceration.
The case predates the widely publicized collapse of the FTX exchange by several months. Former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2024 and has appealed; the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit had heard arguments in November but had not issued a decision.
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