Former OpenSea director accused of insider trading denies charges
Former OpenSea Product Manager Nathaniel Chastain filed a dismissal indictment regarding an insider scandal in September.
As reported by Crypto Fox News, in September 2021, Former Product Manager OpenSea products were caught using the organization's confidential information to collect NFTs before they were advertised on the homepage, then resold at high prices for profit. It is estimated that this person pocketed 19 ETH, or about 68,000 USD at the time.
Thought things had calmed down until June this year, the Southern District Court of New York (USA) suddenly arrested and prosecuted Mr. Nathaniel Chastain for fraud and money laundering. The action of dismissing the indictment is the latest development in this case. Accordingly, the defendant's lawyers argued that there was not enough legal basis to convict Mr. Chastain, because there was no law recognizing cryptocurrencies as well as NFT in the US. His lawyer commented that: “The government has brought immediate prosecution by using unwarranted applications of criminal law to set precedent in the digital asset space. ”
In a related development, back earlier this month, the former Coinbase Product Manager also pleaded not guilty to insider trading as well as "selling" to relatives for illicit income. This is the second crypto-related insider trading case pursued by the Justice Department, following a similar incident with the director of OpenSea.
Crypto Fox News summary
Aug 23, 2022
