Cryptocurrencies
Crypto Fraudster Sentenced to 8 Years in Token-Offering Scam
- Centra Tech founder Sharma took $36 million from investors
- Boxer Mayweather, DJ Khaled settled SEC charges over promotion
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
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The 29-year-old founder of a defunct Florida cryptocurrency firm will spend eight years behind bars for duping investors out of more than $36 million with the help of celebrities including boxer Floyd Mayweather and music producer DJ Khaled, whom he paid to promote the business.
Sohrab “Sam” Sharma was sentenced to the federal prison term on Thursday, after pleading guilty in July to conspiring to commit securities fraud, wire fraud and mail fraud as part of an initial coin offering scheme. The fraud included the false claim that the company, Centra Tech, was led by a Harvard-educated chief executive officer with decades of business experience.