Sohrab Sharma, the co-founder of the notorious celebrity-spruiked initial coin offering of 2017, Centra Tech, has been sentenced to eight years in prison for his leading role in the fraudulent scheme that duped investors out of more than $25 million. Shama had previously pled guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud, securities fraud, and mail fraud for material misrepresentations made by him and his co-conspirators to solicit investors to participate in the scheme. United States attorney, Ilan Graff, described Sharma as having “led a scheme to deceive investors by falsely claiming that the start-up he co-founded had developed fully functioning, …

U.S. federal prosecutors are pushing for a heavy prison sentence to be levied against one of the founders of Centra Tech — the company behind a notorious initial coin offering in 2017 that was promoted by professional boxer Floyd Mayweather and musician DJ Khaled. In a government sentencing submission filed on Oct. 31, the government requested that U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield sentenced Centra Tech co-founder Robert Joseph Farkas to “a substantial term of imprisonment” to deter other fraudsters from conducting unlawful ICOs. “While legitimate ICOs represent a new and efficient means to raise capital, the loss of investor confidence …

Robert Farkas is negotiating a plea bargain for his role in the fraudulent Centra Tech initial coin offering (ICO) that commissioned celebrity endorsements from Floyd Mayweather Jr and DJ Khaled. According to Law360, U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield has granted Farkas’ attorneys’ request to schedule a plea hearing for next week on June 10, with details of the proposed plea yet to be disclosed. The trials of Farkas and fellow Centra founder Sohrab Sharma were delayed until September as the coronavirus lockdown took effect during March. Centra Tech founder to negotiate plea deal Farkas and Sharma face charges for defrauding …