The cryptocurrency firm Centra Tech founder, Robert Farkas, has been confined to jail for one year after pleading for operating an initial coin offering (ICO) that deceived victims for $25 million. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Farkas was indicted for conspiring securities and wire fraud. The co-founders Sohrab Sharma and Raymond Trapani are also pleaded guilty. Prosecutors originally filed a sentence within 5 to 7 years and a fine worth $250,000.
Centra Tech’s Robert Farkas employed $25 million for an extravagant lifestyle.
Farkas, along with Co-defendants Sohrab Sharma and Raymond Trapani, established Centra Tech in 2017. It provided cryptocurrency-related financial products. The trio tricked victims into sending more than $25 million to launch a debit card, enabling users to make investments with cryptocurrency at any business supporting Visa or Mastercard. Moreover, ICO investors jointly forked a few million dollars in direction of the useless tokens. Moreover, Farkas and his co-conspirators utilized the money to finance an expensive lifestyle.
Additionally, the team reportedly lied about appointing a Harvard-educated CEO and other attributes of their business. The promotional content presented on its website was faulty. Moreover, the value of its token, CTR, led to artificial hype to draw investments. It utilized the pump and dump mechanism, which employs investor capital. The charges involved plunging the value of their associated tokens. The decision emerges as the U.S. regulatory agencies decide to strengthen their policies on frauds linked to crypto.
The case’s inception resulted as a civil complaint filed in 2018. Moreover, the SEC filed an action against celebrities. It includes a retired boxer, Floyd Mayweather and DJ Khaled, for promoting Centra Tech’s ICO and its ‘Centra Card.’ Earlier, Centra Tech’s legal claims, which rolled out as fraudulent, successfully deceived various investors. Moreover, Farkas’ scheme involved distortions about Centra Tech’s license as a money services business in 38 states and collaboration with Visa and Mastercard. Provided the nature of the operation, prosecutors apparently seemed to drive the book at Farkas.
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