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Founders of Cryptocurrency-Focused Tech Company Face Federal Fraud Charges

By Colby Hamilton
May 01, 2018

Two heads of a tech company that raised tens of millions through an initial coin offering (ICO) for what was sold as the world's first multi-blockchain debit card now face federal civil and criminal charges for allegedly defrauding investors.

Sohrab Sharma and Robert Farkas, identified by officials as the co-founders of Centra Tech Inc., were charged with securities and wire fraud by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and securities and wire fraud charges by the Justice Department. The charges were filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

According to federal officials, Sharma and Farkas issued a fraudulent ICO that raised at least $32 million from thousands of investors. The funding was supposed to build a suite of financial products, such as the debit card that investors were told would be backed by Visa and Mastercard. The card would allow instantaneous conversion of cryptocurrencies into U.S. dollars and other forms of government-backed legal tender.

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