Nathaniel Chastain, who previously worked as a product manager at the NFT marketplace OpenSea, has been sentenced to 3 months in prison by a federal judge. The charges he was convicted of were wire fraud and money laundering stemming from insider trading activities during his time at OpenSea.
On August 22nd, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that former OpenSea employee Nathaniel Chastain has been sentenced for insider trading related to NFTs on the platform. The DOJ statement from Attorney Damian Williams said Chastain received 3 months prison time, 3 months home confinement, and 3 years supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a $50,000 fine and forfeit the Ether cryptocurrency profits from his illegal trades. According to Inner City Press, Chastain must turn himself in by November 2nd, though his lawyers plan to appeal the conviction and seek bail pending appeal.
The judge acknowledged during Chastain’s sentencing that respect for the law and deterring others requires punishment for his crimes. However, the judge also noted mitigating factors, including that Chastain has no prior criminal history and a potentially bright future ahead of him. While punishment was necessary, the judge seemed to imply Chastain deserved some leniency as a first-time offender with positive circumstances to consider.
#NFTTrading #CryptocurrencyFraud #OpenSea #NathanielChastain
