The former chief financial officer of onetime Seattle e-commerce startup Fabric has been convicted of four counts of wire fraud for taking and misusing around $35 million from his former employer.
Nevin Shetty, 41, of Mercer Island, Wash., was found guilty on Nov. 7, after a nine-day jury trial, according to a news release from the United States Attorney’s office for the Western District of Washington.
“This defendant exploited his position of power and trust in an attempt to profit from his crime and then lied to cover it up,” U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd said in a statement.
Shetty joined Fabric as CFO in March 2021. The company, which moved its headquarters out of Seattle to San Francisco last year, was raising capital at the time and Shetty helped draft a policy governing how the money raised should be invested conservatively while the company worked to grow its business.
Prosecutors said Shetty diverted funds in early 2022 to his own cryptocurrency business, HighTower Treasury, without authorization. Although he helped create the company’s policy limiting investments to low-risk accounts, he secretly moved the money into high-yield decentralized finance platforms that promised 20% returns.
According to records, Shetty’s plan was to pay his employer 6% interest and keep the rest of the profits through HighTower. In the first month, he and a partner made about $133,000, but by May 2022, the crypto investments had collapsed, wiping out nearly all $35 million.
After confessing to colleagues, Shetty was fired and the company reported the theft to the FBI.
Shetty was indicted in May 2023.
Jurors deliberated about 10 hours before reaching the guilty verdict last week. Judge Tana Lin scheduled sentencing for Feb. 11, 2026. Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
