FRESNO, Calif. — The two founders of Bitwise Industries, a failed tech incubator from California that sought to revitalize job markets in urban areas before flaming out in a fraud scheme, were sentenced to prison for deceiving investors out of around $115 million, the U.S. Attorney's Office in the eastern district of California announced on Tuesday.
Jake Soberal was sentenced to 11 years in prison and Irma Olguin, Jr., was sentenced to nine years. Both of the co-CEOs surrendered to federal criminal charges in November of last year after filing for bankruptcy and furloughing the company's entire workforce months before.
“Defendants likened themselves to gods and joked about deceiving their well-intentioned investors while committing a massive fraud,” U.S. Attorney Phillip Talbert said in a press release. “They lied repeatedly to pull in over $100 million to a dying business venture that they knew never had any meaningful revenue. To make themselves rich and keep up the façade, they used fabricated bank statements, false financial information, forged documents, and fake loan collateral. These sentences serve as a reminder of the hazards of such financial crimes, and my office will continue to work with the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, and our law enforcement partners to vigorously investigate and prosecute those who commit them.”