FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — The founders and co-CEOs of failed tech company Bitwise have been accused of a $100 million fraud scheme following a federal investigation.
Irma Olguin Jr. and Jake Soberal appeared in federal court Thursday on charges of conspiring to commit wire fraud and taking over $100 million from retail and institutional investors.
The two pleaded not guilty and were released on conditions including surrender of their passports, restricted travel and unspecified bail bonds that included equity in Olguin’s mother’s home and Soberal’s home.
Federal investigators claim their fraud began no later than January 2022.
The Bitwise founders were accused months ago of a $100 million fraud scheme that had begun months earlier
“I personally represented Irma in court today for the class action lawsuit. We chased her through multiple counties and multiple states and she did everything she could to hide, but today she couldn’t hide,” said attorney Roger Bonakdar.
Bonakdar represents many former employees and used the federal court hearing as an opportunity to serve Olguin.
“In our complaint, we allege that they defrauded investors of tens of millions of dollars by repeatedly lying about Bitwise’s key financial metrics,” said Monique Winkler, regional director of the Securities & Exchange Commission.
The complaint alleges that Olguin provided investors with amended bank statements showing that the company had more than $23 million in the bank as of March 2022.
Bank statements obtained by federal investigators show there was only $325,000 in the account.
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“The SEC alleges that Soberal and Olguin told these lies because they knew that investors would not have invested in Bitwise if they had known the truth about Bitwise’s poor financial condition,” Winkler explained.
U.S. Attorney Phillip Talbert says altered audits were also used to obtain an additional $5 million from an investor.
“This wasn’t a simple lie, it was a series of lies backed up with false documentation to get all this money,” Talbert said.
The money was said to have been used to pay Bitwise’s salary and benefits, including Olguin, Jr. and Soberal’s salaries of $600,000 per year, furnishing the company’s office space, and repaying previous debts Lenders.
The problems only came to light in May 2023, when the company abruptly laid off all employees and told them their final paychecks would likely increase, leaving hundreds without three weeks’ pay and out of work.
There will be a bond status hearing for Olguin and Soberal on December 8th and a preliminary hearing on January 25th.
Stay with ABC30 for the latest details on this developing story.
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