Bitconned is a fascinating look at the world of cryptocurrency, and the opportunistic actions of a small group of people, including Sohrab “Sam” Sharma, or “Sorbee”, that found a way to capitalize on the trend and make a whole lot of money. The stylishly directed feature covers the actions of self-proclaimed wannabe criminal Ray Trapani, his old high school acquaintance Sam, and the third member of the “gang”, Robert Farkas, who together set up the fraudulent company Centra Tech.
Where is Sohrab Sharma now?
After the events that we see unfold in the feature, Sohrab is arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud, mail fraud, and wire fraud. At the time of writing, he is still in prison.
Sohrab Sharma’s Prison Sentence Explained
Sohrab would be sentenced on March 4, 2021, receiving eight years in prison. His punishment for his involvement in the affair also included a three-year supervised release, a $20,000 fine, and an order to forfeit $36,088,960.
A deep dive article on Coin Desk would provide a release that explained:
“Sharma previously pled guilty to conspiring to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and mail fraud in connection with his co-conspirators’ use of material misrepresentations and omissions to solicit investors to purchase securities, in the form of digital tokens issued by Centra Tech, through fraudulent fundraising efforts that included an ICO”.
How was Sohrab Sharma involved in Centra Tech?
Sohrab himself does not appear in the Netflix production, despite the team behind the project reaching out to him. He received the harshest punishment for the actions of the team involved.
Sam Sharma was a driving force behind the scam, having approached Ray about setting it up after their previous business venture, a car rental service called Miami Exotics, failed. Ray was quite ignorant about crypto and was not smart enough to be able to run an operation such as this on his own, however, Sohrab was more informed and could be considered the brains of the operation. Sam was so heavily involved in the company’s setup that when the investigation into their affairs grew in intensity, he did whatever he could to keep the company solvent.
His standing within the company led investigators to focus on him, and Ray Trapani, who admits he never liked Sohrab having known him in high school and worked with him previously, would be very compliant with the investigation. In exchange, he received no real jail time for his involvement and walked away from the situation relatively unscathed, while Sohrab went down.
What sentences did the other Centra Tech founders get?
Co-founder Robert Farkas would receive a sentence of one year and one day in prison and a three-year supervised release. He was also ordered to forfeit funds of $347,000 and a Rolex watch.
Ray Trapani was convicted on four separate counts but swerved prison time thanks to his cooperation with authorities. Not for the first time, Trapani turned on his co-conspirators for his protection. He was ordered to pay $2.9 million to the investors who were ripped off by the scam, but this is suspected to be a fraction of the wealth accumulated by Centra Tech.
Two months after his sentencing, Trapani bought a house.
RELATED: Was Michael Edwards the real or fake CEO of Centra Tech?
