Several courts have demanded Centra Tech, a now-infamous cryptocurrency project, to turn in its co-founders as they are to be sentenced to 8 years in prison due to fraudulent and illegal activities. The news should come as no surprise, however, as many considered Centra Tech to be quite fraudulent and untrustworthy in the past and have been accused of using stars such as Floyd Mayweather to increase their popularity despite not actually having anything positive or useful to offer.
United States SEC discovers fraud directly related to Centra
Despite Centra Tech presenting itself as a rather niche and vocational firm which specialized in the production of financial and cryptocurrency-related products and services such as debit cards in the past, the SEC has since uncovered their true intentions and exposed them for what they are. Centra Tech was notorious for creating fake partnerships with the likes of both Visa as well as Mastercard and hired influencers such as DJ Khaled and athletes such as Floyd Mayweather to promote them.
The SEC had made their discovery in 2018 and found that both co-founders Raymond Trapani and Robert Farkas had not been running a legitimate business but rather a convoluted scam. Robert had been sentenced to prison in 2020 and was also forced to relinquish ill-gotten funds amounting to nearly $350,000. Meanwhile, both DJ Khaled and Floyd Mayweather had been charged $100,000 and $300,000 respectively for their part in all this.
The case comes to a close as mastermind Sharma found guilty and sentenced to prison
After a lot of back and forth for a few years now, the mastermind behind the entire scam, Sam Sharma, has been found guilty on all charges and has received a $20,000 fine in addition to having to forfeit all of his ill-gotten gains, which amounted to $36 million. Sharma had pled guilty and admitted that he had committed wire, mail, and securities frauds, as well as the solicitation of public funds, which he utilized to launch his Centra coins.
In the end, this should serve as a precautionary tale for anyone thinking they can outsmart the SEC and get away with it, and we are sure to remember the case of Centra Tech for years to come.