Ex-CFO Sentenced to Two Years for Diverting $35M to Crypto Venture

A Seattle judge has sentenced Nevin Shetty, the former chief financial officer of a local startup, to two years in prison after he secretly moved approximately $35 million of company funds to a cryptocurrency platform he ran. Shetty directed the transfers to the HighTower Treasury platform in 2022 and invested the money in high-yield DeFi lending protocols that promised returns of 20% or more; he initially earned $133,000 in the first month.

The Terra ecosystem collapse and a broader market downturn soon erased those gains, leaving the investments' value nearly zero by May 13, 2022. After the funds were essentially gone he told two fellow executives and was immediately fired. Indicted on wire fraud in May 2023, Shetty was found guilty on four counts in November 2025 after a nine-day jury trial and was ordered to repay the stolen funds; he will also serve three years of supervised release after his prison term.

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