A cryptocurrency executive found it “hilariously funny” that the Oregon Democratic Party reported his donation under a different name, nearly leading to federal criminal charges.
While Nishad Singh was working as an engineer for the now-disgraced FTX at its headquarters in the Bahamas, he was told by a colleague he barely knew to send $500,000 to the party to make Singh and the company look good, according to Oregon Alive.
Singh authorized the half-million dollars to be transferred through his account at Prime Trust in Nevada, a company that specializes in transferring cryptocurrencies into regular bank accounts.
Oregon Democrats scrambled to find a way to credit the massive contribution after receiving it on Oct. 4, 2022, to meet a deadline to report the contribution to state campaign finance regulators.
While Nishad Singh was working as an engineer for the now discredited FTX, he was told by a colleague he barely knew to send $500,000 to the Party to put Singh and the company in a good light
Documents show they emailed Singh and others involved in the transfer, discussed the matter internally and investigated Prime Trust, Oregon Live reported. They say Singh was never actually approached about the donation.
The Party also ignored multiple warnings that Prime Trust was not the source of the money.
Singh’s name appeared on the transfer papers and was noted as the ‘donor of record’.
Prime Trust was eventually listed as a donor after an FTX contractor who helped arrange the payment told Oregon Democrats, “Nishad prefers Prime Trust (although not strongly), so go [with] That. Thank you!’
Singh authorized the half-million dollars to be sent through his account at Prime Trust in Nevada, which specializes in transferring cryptocurrencies into regular bank accounts.
While Singh told investigators he had no reason to withhold his name for the donation, the Party did so, falsely claiming that Singh wanted to hide his identity.
Singh had no idea about the misrepresentation until an Oregon Live reporter questioned authorities about the donation in October 2022, the news site said.
He found out about it through an FTX Signal group chat.
Oregon Democrats scrambled to figure out how to credit the massive contribution after receiving it on Oct. 4, 2022, in an effort to meet a deadline to report it to state campaign finance regulators.
According to Oregon Live, an Oregon Department of Justice official wrote that Singh at the time dismissed it as a clerical error and found it “hilariously funny.”
The error led the Secretary of State’s office, which is Democratic, to propose fining the party $35,000 for the misrepresentation. The amount was later reduced to $15,000, with a promise not to pursue criminal charges.
The Oregon Department of Justice closed the investigation last month, saying there was insufficient evidence that Oregon Democrats knew they were providing false information.