Centra Tech ICO Founder Pleads Guilty to Fraud

Robert Farkas stands as one of the founders of the Centra Tech Initial Coin Offering (ICO). The man has recently started negotiations of a plea deal due to his role within the fraudulent ICO, which managed to commission celebrity endorsements from the likes of DJ Khaled as well as Floyd Mayweather Jr.

A Plea Hearing After Delays

Judge Lorna Schofield of the US District Court has granted the request made by the attorneys of Farkas to request to schedule a plea hearing, marking next week for it. The details of this plea deal is yet to be disclosed, however.

The COVID-19 pandemic, having taken effect in March, had caused the trials of both Farkas and the other co-founder of Centra, Sohrab Sharma, to be delayed to September. Now, however, Farkas seemed less keen on his ability to take on the Court in this case.

A Fraud Worth $25 Million

Both Sharma and Farkas have been leveled with charges due to both of them managing to defraud investors out of a staggering amount of over $25 million. They did so back in the crypto bubble year of 2017, during the months of July and October.

Centra Tech went all the way, managing to falsify licensing agreements with Mastercard, Visa, and Bancorp to try and drive the hype of the offering forward. To hammer the hype home, the two even managed to commission endorsements from DJ Khaled, a famous musician, as well as Floyd Mayweather Jr, a renowned professional boxer.

A Few Interesting Measures

Raymon Trapani, another perpetrator, was in charge of operating the ICO itself. However, Trapani pleaded guilty in July of 2019 to nine counts. The most interesting part about this operation is the fact that the trio operated a luxury car rental company in Florida when they schemed this up.

Back in November of 2018, both Mayweather and Khaled were hit with charges by the US Securities Exchange Commission, or SEC. The charges were for the unlawful touting of ICO offerings.

A Thickening Plot

The regulator revealed that neither Khaled nor Mayweather deemed it prudent to reveal their payouts for promoting the ICO on social media. Khaled had managed to gain $50,000 out of the deal, while Mayweather gained $100,000. Not to be outdone, it was later discovered that Mayweather had previously promoted two other ICOs, failing to disclose a staggering $200,000 he was paid to do so.