A couple accused of spending $10.5M sent in error by Crypto.com on houses, a car, furniture and gifts face trial for theft
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- A couple is facing trial for theft after allegedly spending millions of dollars sent by Crypto.com.
- Prosecutors say Thevamanogari Manivel and Jatinder Singh went on a spending spree with the funds.
- The couple claimed they didn't know the money had been sent in error, the Daily Mail reported.
A couple are facing a trial in Australia on theft charges after they spent millions of dollars wrongly transferred to their bank account by Crypto.com.
The exchange mistakenly transferred $10.5 million, rather than $100, to Thevamanogari Manivel's account in May 2021 after entering the wrong figure in the payment field, according to a default judgement in August. It took the company seven months to realize its mistake and try to recover the funds.
During that time, prosecutors say that Manivel and her partner Jatinder Singh went on a spending spree with the cash.
The Daily Mail reported that Manivel and Singh bought four properties with the money, including a $1.2 million home in Melbourne and put a $56,000 deposit on another house. The couple also gave more than $1 million to their three daughters.
The couple also spent $70,000 on a car for one of their children, another $1.2 million to pay off a friend's mortgage, and spent the rest on furniture, art, and other luxury products, the outlet reported.
Detective Senior Constable Conor Healy said Manivel, 40, was apprehended at Melbourne airport carrying a large amount of cash and luggage, and a one-way ticket to Malaysia, per the Mail.
Singh had been a keen crypto trader, according to the Daily Mail, and had nearly $50,000 in his Crypto.com wallet. He reportedly claimed he had won the money from Crypto.com when the mistake was eventually noticed.
Jessica Willard, Manivel's lawyer, told a hearing at Melbourne Magistrates Court in October that her client may not have known where the funds came from.
"The whole issue in relation to Ms Manivel is the dishonesty element – whether she knew that the money was stolen or not," Willard said, per the Daily Mail.
Manivel and Singh both pleaded not guilty to theft. Manivel also pleaded not guilty to a count of negligently dealing with the proceeds of crime, per the outlet.
The court heard that $2 million in cash was still unaccounted for, along with assets worth a further $1 million.
The couple face sentences of up to 20 years each if found guilty of stealing the funds from Commonwealth Bank Australia.
The couple faced a directions hearing in Victoria's County Court last month, with a further hearing scheduled for late March, news.com.au reported.
Prosecutor Damian Ellwood said communications between Crypto.com and Commonwealth Bank Australia would be "essential" to the case, per the outlet.
Crypto.com didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.