Melbourne man jailed for keeping $10 million crypto ‘refund’ made in error

A man’s cognitive incapacity and inability to foresee consequences led him on a $6 million spending spree after more than $10 million was mistakenly transferred into his bank account.

Jatinder Singh, 39, had placed a $100 deposit in his then-partner Thevamangari Manivel’s account on cryptocurrency website Crypto.com in May 2021.

He was then notified his investment would be refunded because of a discrepancy in account names.

But the staff member issuing the refund typed a bank account number into the funds box — mistakenly transferring more than $10.4 million into Manivel’s Commonwealth Bank account, the Victorian County Court heard.

Singh told Manivel to transfer the large sum to their shared bank account before the transaction could be reversed.

Singh was on Tuesday jailed for three years over the theft of $6 million, which was spent in a flurry of 160 transactions ranging from $5000 to more than $1 million over 10 months.

When the cryptocurrency platform realised the mistake — seven months later during an audit — it and the Commonwealth Bank attempted to contact the pair to recover the money.

The pair ignored the companies’ repeated attempts, believing it was a scam.

By that time, they had already gone on a spending spree including buying two properties and gifting $1 million to a friend.

Manivel made two separate transfers of $2 million to a bank account in Malaysia.

Singh was arrested and charged with theft in March 2022, when he told police he believed the money came from “winning something” on the Crypto.com website.

Judge Martine Marich noted Singh’s cognitive challenges, including an “extremely low” IQ, which reduced his ability to foresee the impacts of his actions.

“Cognitive limitations and challenges in navigating social rules weigh more heavily on you than it would for others,” she said.

She accepted a psychologist’s interpretation that Singh’s offending was an “opportunistic and poorly considered series of acts” associated with poor understanding of cryptocurrency trading, limitations to his problem-solving and consideration of possible consequences.

A difficult stint on remand, including racial bullying, exacerbated his deteriorating mental health including anxiety and depressive symptoms and suicide ideation.

The impact of media coverage of his crimes left him feeling scared to leave his house, fearing his reputation would be harmed by the charge, Marich said.

“(You were afraid) of others in the Punjab community judging and gossiping about you and fear that your parents will learn of your offending,” she said.

The judge said he had very good prospects of rehabilitation.

“I can safely say that situation is unlikely to recur,” she said.

“You have not reoffended since being granted bail, a lack of priors and a pro-social lifestyle aside from this offending leads me to conclude that you present with a low risk of reoffending.”

The judge acknowledged a conviction against his name would weigh against future visa applications.

The Indian national will be eligible for parole after two years after already serving 361 days in prison.

Singh’s former partner and co-accused Manivel was jailed for 209 days in 2023 after she was arrested attempting to board a flight to Malaysia with a one-way ticket.

Crypto.com launched civil proceedings against Singh but has declined to reveal how much it has been able to recover.