While in New York last week attending a CLE conference, I took a moment to visit the United States District Courthouse for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan and watch some of the Nathaniel Chastain federal criminal trial. As I have previously blogged:
In May of 2022, Former OpenSea employee, Nathaniel Chastain, was indicted on one count of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349, and one count of concealment money laundering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(1)(B)(i). The government essentially accuses Chastain of using his insider knowledge to profit from NFTs featured on OpenSea's homepage. Chastain was responsible for selecting NFTs that would be featured on OpenSea’s homepage. The government alleges Chastain abused his position by buying featured NFTs and then selling it at a profit using anonymous accounts. Crypto Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
The defense reseted its case on Friday and the Judge scheduled closing arguments for Monday, May 1, 2023. Yesterday the parties made their closing arguments and the case is now with the jury for deliberations. Crypto Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
"He knew that when he came up with a plan for what to feature on OpenSea's website, he was supposed to use that for the company, not for his own gain," prosecutor Thomas Burnett said in his closing argument on Monday. "His greed won out." Reuters
Chasten is charged with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. If convicted at trial, he faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. DOJ Press Release