Robinhood engineers charged over $50K crypto scheme

Federal prosecutors have charged two Robinhood engineers with commodities fraud and wire fraud after each allegedly earned more than $50,000 by trading crypto perpetual futures with confidential listing information. Summary Two Robinhood engineers allegedly traded before the company announced new cryptocurrency listings. Each defendant allegedly earned more than $50,000 through perpetual futures positions on Hyperliquid. Commodities fraud carries a maximum 10-year sentence, while wire fraud carries up to 20 years. The criminal complaints remain allegations, and both engineers are presumed innocent unless convicted. Robinhood engineers allegedly traded before listings The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced the charges against Hefu Chai, 36, and Huaisong Xiang, 30, also known as Jerry Xiang, on Sep. 15. Both defendants worked as engineers at Robinhood Markets during the alleged conduct. According to the criminal complaints, their jobs gave them access to confidential information about which cryptocurrencies Robinhood Crypto planned to add to its platform and when the listings would become public. Prosecutors allege that Chai and Xiang used the info...