Disgraced NRL star Jarryd Hayne has reportedly been conned out of $780,000 in Bitcoin by one of his jail inmates.
Ishan Seenar Sappideen allegedly told convicted rapist Hayne that he’d made millions of dollars investing with Australian billionaire Mike Cannon-Brooke.
The conman convinced Hayne and other inmates that he could deliver big returns if they invested with him, according to The Daily Telegraph.
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Sappideen is serving a maximum 12-year sentence after being found guilty of stealing $4.6m from his friends and family in a Ponzi scheme.
The former Sydney Grammar student allegedly received more than $2 million from Hayne and at least six other inmates in Cooma jail between 2020 and 2022.
Sappideen was moved to a different prison due to fears for his safety following complaints over his behaviour which led to Corrective Services NSW’s investigations.
“Earlier this year, CSNSW intelligence officers became aware of allegations an inmate at Cooma Correctional Centre was attempting to coerce and advise fellow inmates to make transactions on the financial markets,” a CSNSW spokeswoman told The Daily Telegraph.
“The accused inmate … has since had his security classification reviewed to enable a higher level of supervision and less freedom. CSNSW refers suspected criminal activity to the Police Corrections Intelligence Unit who share intelligence with relevant state and federal police.”
The reports claimed Hayne’s money was transferred by people outside jail who had access to his bank accounts.
Hayne was in Cooma jail after being found guilty of raping a woman at her home in October 2019 and sentenced to five years and nine months jail.
He won an appeal in February 2022 and was granted a retrial only to be found guilty again and jailed for at least three years on May 12.
Hayne’s legal team had filed a notice of intention to appeal in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal.
It is not known what the grounds of the appeal will be, but Hayne has continued to profess his innocence, despite a jury of seven men and five women finding him guilty of both charges of performing oral and digital sex on the woman without her consent on NRL grand final night in 2018.
A female supporter in the public gallery yelled “you’re innocent” as Hayne was sentenced.
During a sentencing hearing at the Newcastle District Court, Hayne continued to profess his innocence.
“I didn’t do it,” he said.
Originally published as Disgraced NRL star Hayne allegedly loses $780k in prison Bitcoin scam