Insider crime: The sentence has been handed down. An employee altered the minting conditions in the contract, artificially creating 1 billion tokens worth $14 million at the time. He previously worked at the Holograph Foundation, a project developing cross-chain token issuance tools, with the token $HLG. Two years ago, he modified the contract’s “conditions for minting,” directly minting 1 billion $HLG into his own wallet. He then, together with two accomplices, distributed the tokens across multiple exchange accounts for withdrawal. Now, the Paris Criminal Court has ruled: five years in total, with two years to be served in prison and three years suspended. Charges included: unauthorized access to data systems, organized fraud, money laundering, and participation in a criminal organization. His two accomplices were also convicted. One received a two-year sentence, with 14 months suspended and a fine of approximately RMB 596,000; the other received a two-year suspended sentence and a fine of approximately RMB 298,000. Most interestingly, the Foundation claimed the token’s price plummeted due to the unauthorized minting and demanded compensation—but the court rejected this claim. The reason: no evidence proved that the price drop was directly caused by this token issuance. He created the tokens and will serve time for it—but the financial loss from the price decline will not be held against him.