Former Seattle startup CFO Nevin Shetty has been sentenced to two years in prison for wire fraud. The U.S. Justice Department stated Shetty secretly transferred $35 million in company funds to his own crypto platform, HighTower Treasury, in 2022. He used the money for high-risk DeFi investments, which collapsed during a market downturn, nearly wiping out the stolen funds.
A Seattle judge has sentenced former chief financial officer Nevin Shetty to two years in prison for wire fraud. According to the U.S. Justice Department, Shetty secretly moved approximately $35 million from a local startup to a cryptocurrency platform he controlled.
Shetty transferred the funds to the HighTower Treasury platform in 2022 without the knowledge of company executives or board members. He then invested the stolen money into high-yield DeFi lending protocols that promised returns of 20% or more.
He initially earned about $133,000 in the first month before the investments declined. “[T]he cryptocurrency investments that Shetty made with the stolen funds soon began declining and by May 13, 2022, the value of the investments was nearly zero,” said the DOJ.
After the $35 million was effectively lost, Shetty disclosed his actions to two fellow executives. He was immediately fired from the startup following this confession.
Shetty was indicted on wire fraud charges in May 2023 and found guilty on four counts in November 2025 after a nine-day trial. He has been ordered to repay the stolen funds and will serve three years of supervised release after his prison sentence.
This 2022 case preceded the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Former FTX CEO Sam “SBF” Bankman-Fried was later sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2024. Bankman-Fried has filed an appeal, which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit had not decided as of late last year.
