Seattle CFO docked for stealing $35M to invest in crypto project - Coinfea

The Department of Justice has sentenced a former CFO in Washington to two years in prison for wire fraud after duping his employer out of $35 million to finance his own crypto project. Last November, prosecutors scored a wire fraud conviction against Nevin Shetty, 42.

ContentsDOJ docks Nevin Shetty for wire fraudDo Kwon sentenced in crypto fraud caseAccording to the DOJ, the CFO allegedly diverted the money to his HighTower Treasury platform in 2022, after learning in April that performance issues would lead to the end of his CFO position. Shetty funneled the money without the board’s or executives’ knowledge and used it for high-yield DeFi lending operations, claiming returns of 20% or more. The DOJ stated that Shetty intended to provide his employer with a limited, fixed return while retaining the remaining profits through HighTower.

DOJ docks Nevin Shetty for wire fraud

Within the first month, the operation generated roughly $133,000. But the market turmoil that washed over his operation after the collapse of the Terra ecosystem took a heavy toll. The value of his crypto investments tumbled from $35 million to near nothing. The DOJ reported that once the $35 million was essentially gone, Shetty confessed to two of his fellow executives what he had done. After which, the CFO was immediately fired.

Shetty was formally charged in May 2023, and Judge Tana Lin later found him guilty on four counts of wire fraud in November 2025, noting that his actions had a profound impact on the company and disrupted the lives of its 60 employees. She added, “You almost put the company out of business…. You were playing with money that wasn’t yours.”

Prosecutors had sought a nine-year sentence for Shetty, arguing that his deception and fraud inflicted massive losses and led to 60 layoffs, but the court instead imposed a two-year term. Shetty was also fined $35,000,100 and will spend three years on supervised release after prison. Additionally, Judge Lin barred him from serving as an officer or director of any company unless he is cleared by the probation office.

Do Kwon sentenced in crypto fraud case

Crypto entrepreneur Do Kwon also suffered the same fate, with the court sentencing him to 15 years in prison for fraud last December. On December 31, 2024, he was extradited, and he later entered a plea of guilty in August 2025, after which US District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer handed down his sentence. According to US Attorney Jay Clayton, the mogul deceived investors while inflating the value of Terraform’s digital assets for his own gain.

Do Kwon claimed that Terraform’s blockchain technology enabled it to build a fully decentralized financial ecosystem, with its own currency, payment platform, stock exchange, and savings bank. In reality, Terraform’s main products didn’t function as Kwon had assured and were manipulated to give the false impression of a working decentralized financial system to attract investors.

Clayton had also accused Kwon of trying to conceal his fraudulent schemes, launder the funds he obtained, and attempt to buy political immunity in foreign nations. Although Kwon expressed remorse in court after the victims, in person and by phone, described the devastating impact of his scheme on savings, charitable causes, and everyday lives. Another victim also wrote to the judge that he thought about ending his life after the scheme destroyed his father’s retirement savings.