"Crypto Fraudster Sentenced to Nearly 10 Years for $5.7M Heist"

A Singapore court has sentenced Ho Kai Xin to nearly ten years in prison for defrauding $5.7 million from the crypto exchange Bybit. The verdict was made after her guilty plea to 44 charges, including five counts of cheating and eight counts related to dealing with the proceeds of criminal activity.

Ho worked at the crypto networking platform WeChain, responsible for handling payroll for Bybit. She manipulated payroll data to divert funds into crypto wallets she controlled, starting in May 2022 and continuing undetected until February 2023. She was arrested in April that year after a WeChain representative alerted authorities.

The court heard that Ho amended payroll records using Microsoft Excel to falsely increase payments owed by Bybit. She then funneled approximately $4.2 million into her personal crypto wallets before converting it into fiat currency. These funds were used to finance a lavish lifestyle, including placing a deposit of almost $750,000 on a penthouse valued at over $3.7 million and purchasing luxury goods from Louis Vuitton.

Authorities managed to recover more than $1.1 million in Tether (USDT) from her electronic wallets and over $140,000 from one of her bank accounts. Police also seized assets worth close to $330,000, including a Mercedes-Benz car. Despite these recoveries, Ho did not make any attempts to repay the remaining stolen funds.

Her sentencing happened after she was handed a separate six-week prison term last month for contempt of court. She spent the misappropriated money despite being ordered not to by the court. Her latest sentence will begin after she completes her current term, which started on Jan. 27.

During the investigation, Ho tried to mislead authorities by fabricating the existence of a cousin named "Jason Teo," whom she falsely blamed for the illicit transactions. Investigators later confirmed that no such person actually existed, which only further strengthened the case against her.

Her defense lawyer, James Gomez, asked for a reduced sentence of eight years and eight months due to her role as a mother of two young children. He argued that her actions stemmed from a lapse in judgment and that she since reflected on the impact of her crimes on her family, Bybit, and the justice system. However, prosecutors