SEC in Settlement Negotiations with Wahi brothers in CoinBase "Insider Trading" lawsuit: On April 3, the SEC entered into a stipulation with counsel for the Wahi brothers agreeing to entry of a revised scheduling order and deadline to file an opposition motion to the Wahis’ Motion to Dismiss in the CoinBase "Insider Trading" case. Crypto Criminal Defense Lawyer The parties agreed to extend that deadline to June 15th in order to further settlement negotiations. Stipulation
Back in July of 2022, Coinbase Global product manager Ishan Wahi, his brother Nikhil Wahi and another defendant were charged by the DOJ with the "first ever cryptocurrency insider trading tipping scheme". The brothers later pled guilty to federal criminal charges relating to a conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme to commit insider trading of cryptocurrency assets by use of confidential Coinbase information regarding which crypto assets were scheduled to be listed on Coinbase’s exchanges. DOJ Press Release - ISHAN WAHI DOJ Press Release - Nikhil Wahi
In addition to the DOJ criminal charges, the SEC filed a civil lawsuit against the Wahi brother's charging them with "insider trading." In February 2023, legal counsel for the Wahi brothers filed a motion to dismiss that SEC lawsuit arguing that the digital assets listed in the "insider trading" complaint did not meet the legal definition of a "security." The SEC had until April 6, 2023 to file a response to the motion to dismiss. SEC Insider Trading Complaint
According to the stipulation, "SEC and Nikhil Wahi are also in good faith discussions that may resolve the SEC’s claims" and would like additional time to "1) the SEC and Ishan Wahi to finalize the terms of a settlement; 2) the SEC and Nikhil Wahi to move forward on settlement discussions; and 3) for the SEC’s Commissioners to review proposed settlements" Stipulation