The tryout against ex - OpenSea Cartesian product manager Nathaniel Chastain is set to begin later this week , near a year since he was hold inNew York Cityfor wire fraud . Chastain ’s arrest do on the tail - end of an FBI investigationinto hisnon - fungible tokens(NFT ) transaction , which alleged he had secretly bought NFTs and resold them for two to five times their original value .
Prosecutors take Chastain used the business information atOpenSeato discern which tokens would have the highest economic value and would be feature on the companionship ’s home plate page and used the info to turn a profits . The tryout is the first deplorable insider trading subject involving NFTs , according toReuters , but U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a June 1filing , “ NFTs might be new , but this eccentric of criminal scheme is not . ”
OpenSea is the largest on-line marketplace for selling and purchasing NFTs , and Chastain ’s lawyers argued in a pretrial conference on Thursday that Chastain ’s natural process did not decrease under insider trading as the information obtain presented no note value to OpenSea . “ We are not talk about securities trading , ” Chastain ’s lawyer David Miller said , adding , “ There is a substantial danger of undue prejudice and confusion of the jury . ”
Image: AP News (AP)
Chastain allegedly betray the NFTs from June 2021 until at least September 2021 and accord to the indictment , in one case , Chastain had purchase four of “ The Brawl 2 ” NFT tokens only minute before it went live on OpenSea ’s home page , selling them for double the amount he purchased them for within time of day .
He reportedly used multiple anon. accounts anddigital walletsto fly under the radar during purchase and gross revenue of the NFTs . FBI Assistant Director - in - Charge Michael J. Driscoll said in the June filing , “ In this casing , as alleged , Chastain launched an age - old scheme to commit insider trading by using his knowledge of confidential info to purchase XII of NFTs in advance of them being featured on OpenSea ’s homepage . ” He add together that “ the FBI will preserve to sharply pursue actors who select to misrepresent the market in this way . ”
Chastain is charged with one count of wire fraud and one numeration of money laundering . His trial is expected to last one to two week and , if convict , he face a utmost of 20 years in prison .
OpenSea did not immediately respond to Gizmodo ’s asking for input .
CorruptionCrimeGizmodoInsider tradingLaw , CrimeOPENSEA
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