A man who spent more than $6 million that was mistakenly transferred to his bank account has been jailed for three years.
In May 2021, Jatinder Singh, 39, made a $100 deposit into his then-partner Thevamangari Manivel’s account on cryptocurrency website Crypto.com.
The Indian citizen was notified that his investment would be refunded due to a discrepancy in the names on the accounts.
But in what County Court Judge Martine Marich described as a significant accounting error, the staff member who issued the refund wrote a bank account number in the funds box, transferring more than $10.4 million to Manivel’s bank account.
Singh told his partner to transfer the large sum of cash from his Commonwealth Bank account to their joint bank account before the transaction could be reversed.
Singh was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison for stealing $6 million spent in a series of 160 transactions ranging from $5,000 to more than $1 million over 10 months.
When the cryptocurrency platform realised the error (seven months later, during an audit), it and the Commonwealth Bank attempted to contact the couple to recover the money.
The couple ignored the companies’ repeated attempts, believing it to be a scam.
Jatinder Singh (pictured at an earlier court appearance) was jailed for three years on Wednesday.
Singh’s ex-partner, Thevamanogari Manivel, was jailed for 209 days last year after she was arrested while trying to board a flight to Malaysia on a one-way ticket.
By then, they had already gone on a spending spree, including buying two properties and giving a million dollars to a friend.
Manivel made two separate transfers of $2 million to a bank account in Malaysia.
Another $1.2 million was used to buy a luxury home in Craigieburn and a $56,000 deposit was put on a house in Mickleham.
Police allege Manivel showered his daughters with gifts, giving $500,000 to one, $430,000 to another and $200,000 to a third daughter.
Another $70,000 was used to buy a car for his daughter in Melbourne and $1.2 million was given to one of Singh’s friends to pay off his mortgage on a property in Mickleham.
The rest was allegedly spent on furniture, artwork and other luxury items.
Singh was arrested and charged with theft in March 2022 when he told police in an interview that he believed the money came from “winning something” on the website Crypto.com.
Judge Marich, in her sentencing remarks, highlighted Singh’s cognitive challenges, including an “extremely low” IQ, which reduced his ability to foresee the impact of his actions.
“Cognitive limitations and challenges in navigating social rules weigh more heavily on you than on others,” he said.
She accepted a psychologist’s interpretation that Singh’s crimes were a “series of opportunistic and ill-considered acts” associated with a poor understanding of cryptocurrency trading, limitations in problem-solving and consideration of potential consequences.
A difficult stay in pretrial detention, which included racial harassment, exacerbated his deteriorating mental health, including symptoms of anxiety and depression and suicidal ideation.
The impact of media coverage of his crimes made him afraid to leave his home, fearing his reputation would be damaged by the accusation, Judge Marich told the court.
“(You were afraid) that others in the Punjabi community would judge you and gossip about you and you were afraid that your parents would find out about your crimes,” he said.
Indian national Jatinder Singh will be eligible for parole after two years, having served 361 days in prison.
Among the couple’s purchases was this $1.95 million home in Craigieburn.
The judge said he had very good prospects for rehabilitation.
“I can say with certainty that such a situation is unlikely to be repeated,” he said.
‘You have not reoffended since you were granted bail, your lack of prior records and a prosocial lifestyle apart from this offence lead me to conclude that you present a low risk of reoffending.’
The judge acknowledged that a conviction against his name could affect his future visa applications.
The Indian national will be eligible for parole after two years, having served 361 days in prison.
Singh’s former partner and co-accused Manivel was jailed for 209 days in 2023 after being arrested while trying to board a flight to Malaysia on a one-way ticket.
Crypto.com has taken civil action against Singh but declined to disclose how much it was able to recover.
For 24-hour confidential support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636.
