Nearly two years after Trusting No One: The Search for the King of Crypto , Netflix has released another documentary about cryptocurrency—and if you're a fan of scam stories, you've probably already breezed through it. Bitconned revisits the short-lived legend of Centra Tech, a startup that attracted investors (valued at over $32 million) through its description of a product that would revolutionize the way people use cryptocurrencies.
However, as Bitconned demonstrates, Centra Tech is built on a series of misrepresentations, from a fake CEO to non-existent partnerships and technology.
Centra Tech debuted less than a year ago with its three co-founders — Sohrab Sharma, Raymond Trapani and Robert Farkas )—will face fraud charges stemming from their respective roles in the company. However, not all sentences are created equal.
This is where Robert Farkas is today, and how he feels about it all failing.
Robert Farkas' role at Centra Tech
According to Bitconned , Farkas is the last co-founder of the Centra Tech team. While Trapani said in the documentary that Farkas was "absolutely unqualified to be CFO," he added that Centra Tech needed someone to keep up with the company's growing online interest.
“I am holding meetings, setting up booths, and engaging the community,” Farkas said in the document. “It feels like we’re changing the world.”
"Double Scam"
In Bitcoin , Farkas explained that Centra Tech sought legal advice from an attorney named Eric Pope, who was actually a college student.
"Every email he sent us to the [Securities and Exchange Commission] was fake. Everything was a lie," Farkas recalled in the documentary.
His service time
In fact, Centra Tech has not received SEC approval. Farkas and Sharma were first charged in April 2018, followed weeks later by Trapani. According to the agency, "Farkas booked a flight out of the country but was arrested before boarding the flight."
Farkas was sentenced to one year in prison after pleading guilty in 2020 to "conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
In addition to the Centra Tech team being punished, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and DJ Khaled were also punished for their roles in promoting the company without disclosing payments from the company.
Now that Farkas is out of jail, he's able to help tell Centra Tech 's story for Bitconned - he's unhappy that Trapani isn't behind bars. Farkas questioned the government's "boldness" in praising his former colleague as a "good guy" after the judge's statement called Trapani's cooperation "extraordinary."
