Recently, the tech community in Fresno was left in shock when Irma Olguin Jr. and Jake Soberal, the co-founders of Bitwise Industries, faced government scrutiny.
Currently, both of them are facing allegations of carrying out a fraudulent scheme to embezzle $100 million from investors.
According to the court indictment, Irma Olguin Jr. and Jake Soberal falsified bank reports and provided investors as well as the board of directors with misleading financial information. They also used assets as collateral for loans without disclosing accurate information.
Notably, these allegations came to light shortly after Bitwise laid off 900 employees. This caused significant disruptions to the company’s operations, leading to the suspension of several projects.
However, despite the scandal, Bitwise continues with its ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund) plans. In early October, Bitwise announced the launch of an Ethereum ETF just one month after suddenly withdrawing its ETF applications for both Bitcoin and Ethereum.