A former Bybit employee is heading to prison for almost a decade after a massive crypto scam.
The Crime
Ho Kai Xin, a payroll worker, was sentenced to nine years and eleven months for defrauding her employer, Bybit, a cryptocurrency exchange based in Seychelles. Her crimes included cheating, money laundering, and lying to authorities. Between October 2021 and October 2022, she used her access to payroll data to redirect cryptocurrency payments meant for Bybit’s 900 employees into her own accounts. She cleverly manipulated Excel spreadsheets to create fake payment records, substituting employee wallet addresses with her own. Over eight transactions, Bybit unknowingly transferred over 4.2 million USDT (Tether) – worth over $5.7 million – into Ho’s personal wallets.
The High Life and the Aftermath
Ho used her ill-gotten gains to live large, buying a luxury penthouse, designer goods (Louis Vuitton, anyone?), and a Mercedes-Benz. Even after a court order to stop spending the stolen money, she splashed out nearly $840,000 on luxury items. This led to a separate six-week jail sentence for contempt of court.
Authorities managed to recover some assets, including over $330,000 and 1.1 million USDT, but a significant portion of the stolen money is still missing. Ho hasn’t offered to pay back what she stole.
The Sentence
The court highlighted the sophisticated and calculated nature of Ho’s scheme, noting her use of multiple bank accounts and digital wallets to hide her tracks. While her defense argued for leniency due to her being a mother of two, the severity and premeditation of her actions resulted in the lengthy prison sentence.
