Ho Kai Xin, a former payroll processing staff member at WeChain Fintech Singapore, has been sentenced to nine years and 11 months in jail for embezzling over $5.7 million.

WeChain Fintech Singapore, which was contracted to manage payroll for Bybit Fintech, employed Ho as a payroll processing staff member. Ho, who was responsible for processing salaries for approximately 900 ByBit employees, exploited her position by manipulating Microsoft Excel files to divert company funds into her own accounts.

Bybit Payroll Scandal

According to a report from The Straits Times, her fraudulent activities began in May 2022 when she altered payroll data to reflect unauthorized payments. She initially stole over $117,000 from WeChain. Encouraged by the absence of detection, she escalated her scheme and ended up misappropriating vast amounts of cryptocurrency directly from Bybits electronic wallet.

In fact, between May and August 2022, she transferred over 4.2 million USDT into four personal wallets. To facilitate the theft, she inserted fraudulent payment entries into payroll documents and listed her own wallet addresses next to employee names to deceive Bybit into authorizing the transactions.

Despite being under investigation and facing legal action from the exchange, Ho continued to lead an extravagant lifestyle. She placed a down payment of nearly $750,000 for a penthouse worth over $3.7 million on Gilstead Road.

She also splurged on high-end items, spending close to $30,000 on Louis Vuitton products, including sunglasses, bags, shoes, shirts, and rings. Additionally, she purchased a Mercedes-Benz valued at $420,000. Police later seized over $330,000 worth of her assets, but a significant portion of the stolen funds remains unaccounted for.

In February 2023, a WeChain representative reported Hos fraudulent activities to the authorities, which led to her arrest two months later. When questioned by police, she attempted to mislead investigators by falsely claiming that an individual named Jason Teo, whom she described as a cousin, was responsible for the unauthorized transactions. However, no such person was found to exist.

Luxury and Lies

Ho pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including cheating, dealing with criminal conduct, and providing false information to public servants. In addition to her nearly decade-long sentence, she was handed a six-week jail term in January 2024 for contempt of court after defying an order prohibiting her from spending her misappropriated funds. Despite court orders, she continued to use the stolen money, spending close to $840,000 on luxury goods.

Bybit has managed to recover approximately 1.1 million USDT from her electronic wallets and an additional $140,000 from one of her bank accounts. However, Ho has made no effort to return the outstanding amount.