(Image source from: NDTV.com)

A start-up company, Centa Tech, Cryptocurrency started by an Indian origin man with two other co-founders have been charged with a strategy to defraud investors, with authorities seizing digital currency worth more than USD 60 million by victims raised as part of the scheme.   

Sohrab Sharma,21, Raymond Trapani,27, and Robert Farkas,31, were three co-founders of a start-up company Centra Tech.

The Southern District of New York charged three with conspiring to commit securities and wire fraud and to induce victims to invest millions of dollars worth of digital funds for the purchase of unregistered securities, in the form of digital currency tokens issued by the company.

Attorney of United States, Robert Khuzami said, “Three men were arrested last month based on criminal complaints charging them with same crimes.”

He further said, “As alleged, the defendants conspired to capitalise on investor interest in the burgeoning cryptocurrency market. They allegedly made false claims about their product and about relationships they had with credible financial institutions, even creating a fictitious Centra Tech CEO.”

The three co-founders are all occupants of Florida and all the three are charged in a four-count indictment with 65 years of captivity. The Federal Bureau of Investigation further seized 91,000 Ether units, consisting of digital funds raised by victims as a part of the charged scheme that is at present worth more than USD 60 million.

According to allegations in indictment, in July 2017, the three co-founders of company began soliciting investors to purchase securities that are unregistered through supposed initial coin offering.

They further told potential investors that their start up company has defined partnerships with Bancorp, Visa and Master card, however the partnership has found to be mendacious.  

The civil charges against the three men has been filed by Securities and Exchange Commission in a separate action.

By Sowmya Sangam