A former employee of NFT platform OpenSea was unable to persuade the judge that the charges against him should be dismissed.
Nate Chastain, OpenSea’s former Product Manager, has been charged with electronic fraud and money laundering. The government alleges that Chastain illegally profited from the sale of NFTs in 2021.
OpenSea’s Former Employee Failed to Convince the Court
The judge’s request by Nate Chastain, former Product Manager of OpenSea, to dismiss accusations of electronic fraud and money laundering did not go through.
Chastain was responsible for deciding which NFTs would appear on OpenSea’s homepage. With this authority and knowledge, the indictment alleges that he bought certain NFTs before they were introduced and turned them for profit when their value increased. Investigators also suggested that Chastain created wallet addresses to hold NFTs and transfer profits back to himself.
Chastain, who wanted the rejection of all these claims, was rejected by the court. Thus, a clear decision could not be reached in the case and it will continue for a while.
OpenSea also decided to part ways with Chastain last month after being notified of the investigation. He also sought the assistance of a third party to conduct a thorough review of the incident and make recommendations on how existing controls could be strengthened.
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