A cryptocurrency executive found it ‘hilariously funny’ that the Democratic Party of Oregon reported his donation under another name, nearly leading to federal criminal charges.
While Nishad Singh was working as an engineer for the now-disgraced FTX at its Bahamas headquarters, he was told by a colleague he hardly knew to send $500,000 to the Party to make Singh and the company look good, according to Oregon Live.
Singh signed off on sending the half-million dollars via his account with Nevada-based Prime Trust, which specializes in wiring cryptocurrency to ordinary bank accounts.
The Oregon Democrats scrambled to figure out how to credit the massive contribution after receiving it on October 4, 2022, trying to meet the deadline to report it to state campaign finance regulators.
While Nishad Singh was working as an engineer for the now-disgraced FTX, he was told by a colleague he hardly knew to send $500,000 to the Party to make Singh and the company look good
Records show they emailed Singh and others connected with the transfer, discussed the matter internally and researched Prime Trust, Oregon Live reported, noting that Singh was never actually contacted about the donation.
The Party also ignored multiple warnings that Prime Trust was not the source of the cash.
Singh’s name appeared on the wire transfer paperwork, identifying him as the ‘donor of record.’
Prime Trust was ultimately listed as the donor after an FTX contractor who helped arrange the payment told the Oregon Democrats: ‘Nishad prefers Prime Trust (though not strongly) so go [with] that. Thx!’
Singh signed off on sending the half-million dollars via his account with Nevada-based Prime Trust, which specializes in wiring cryptocurrency to ordinary bank accounts
While Singh told investigators he had no reason to hide his name from the donation, the Party did just that, wrongly citing Singh’s wishes to shield his identity.
Singh had no idea about the misrepresentation until an Oregon Live reporter questioned officials about the donation in October 2022, the outlet said.
He found out through an FTX Signal group chat.
The Oregon Democrats scrambled to figure out how to credit the massive contribution after receiving it on October 4, 2022, trying to meet the deadline to report it to state campaign finance regulators
‘Singh dismissed it at the time as a clerical error and thought it was “hilariously funny,” ‘ an official with the Oregon Department of Justice wrote, according to Oregon Live.
The error led to the Secretary of State’s Office, which is overseen by Democrats, proposing to fine the Party $35,000 for the misrepresentation, which was later lowered to $15,000 with the promise of not pursuing a criminal case.
The Oregon Department of Justice closed their investigation last month, citing insufficient evidence that the Oregon Democrats knew they were providing false information.
