Share this article
Third Centra Tech Founder Pleads Guilty to ICO Fraud
Centra Tech one of the most storied scams of the the 2017 ICO bubble. Its founders have fallen like dominoes since.
By Danny Nelson
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 9:32 a.m. Published Jul 17, 2020, 8:58 p.m.
U.S. prosecutors have secured a guilty plea from Sohrab Sharma, a co-founder of the Centra Tech initial coin offering (ICO) fraud.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
- As per the Friday plea, Sharma, 29, admitted that he and partners Raymond Trapani and Robert Farkas lied about their purportedly crypto-backed financial product's partnerships, licenses and leadership as it ripped off investors for $25 million. He also forfeited 10,000 in ethereum ($2,329,200).
- The trio touted celebrity endorsements and flashy investor promises while promoting their partnership at the height of the 2017 ICO bubble. But their apparent success and big-name claims quickly caught investigators' attention, and before long they faced a bevy of legal actions from regulators and investors alike.
- Sharma pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
- Farkas pleaded guilty in June, while Trapani did the same last year.
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Barclays Sees ‘Down-Year’ for Crypto in 2026 Without Big Catalysts
Spot trading volumes are cooling, and investor enthusiasm is fading amid a lack of structural growth drivers, analysts wrote in a new report.
What to know:
- Barclays forecasts lower crypto trading volumes in 2026, with no clear catalysts to revive market activity.
- Spot market slowdowns pose revenue challenges for retail-focused platforms like Coinbase and Robinhood, the bank said.
- Regulatory clarity, including pending market structure legislation, could shape long-term market growth despite near-term headwinds.
Top Stories
