Co-founder behind ICO promoted by Floyd Mayweather and DJ Khaled pleads guilty to fraud scheme

The co-founder of Centra Tech, which in 2017 ran an ICO promoted by boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. and music producer DJ Khaled, pled guilty today to his involvement in a multi-million dollar ICO fraud scheme.

According to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Robert Farkas pled guilty to conspiring to commit securities and wire fraud related to a digital investment scheme that duped victims to the tune of $25 million. 

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Mayweather and Khaled at one point served as public faces of the scheme, calling for their fans to participate in the unregistered sale. In 2018, the duo settled charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission that they failed to disclose payments they received for their promotion of the ICO. 

Mayweather and Khaled were also sued by investors who accused them of violating securities law, but a federal judge dismissed them from the suit in May 2019. 

As for Farkas, he face sentencing on a date to be determined, according to the DOJ. He could face up to ten years in prison.

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Saniya More (pronounced: Saan-ya Mo-ray) is a quadrilingual journalist at The Block. She got her master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and did her undergraduate degree at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University. Her work has appeared in CBS News, Bangkok Post, Thai Enquirer, Globalists, Byline Times and other publications. When she’s not chasing a story, you will most likely find her biking, tweeting, taking photos or creating Spotify playlists for every occasion.