Key Takeaways
- • David Hardcastle, 61, of Fresno, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud resulting in approximately $45 million in combined losses across two separate cases, according to U.S. Attorney Eric Grant.
- • Hardcastle and business partner Andrew Adler loaned Bitwise Industries approximately $20 million in high-interest loans while altering loan documents to defraud investors, with Adler subsequently sentenced to three years and five months in prison.
- • Bitwise Industries founders and co-CEOs Jake Soberal and Irma Olguin Jr. were charged with operating a $100 million fraud scheme involving fabricated and altered financial information before the company filed for bankruptcy.
- • The broader Bitwise scandal involves multiple defendants across interconnected fraud schemes, including wire fraud conspiracy related to both Bitwise Industries and Voyager Pacific Capital Management.
- • Federal prosecutors charged multiple parties with "altering and fabricating financial information" designed to deceive and defraud investors in the failed Fresno-based startup.
Summary
David Hardcastle, a 61-year-old Fresno businessman, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme centered on Bitwise Industries, a failed Fresno-based technology startup. The guilty plea resolved charges related to two separate cases that resulted in combined investor losses of approximately $45 million, as announced by U.S. Attorney Eric Grant.
Court documents reveal that Hardcastle and his business partner Andrew Adler loaned Bitwise Industries roughly $20 million in high-interest financing while systematically altering loan documents to deceive investors. Adler subsequently received a prison sentence of three years and five months for his role in the conspiracy. The scheme involved conspiracy to commit wire fraud spanning both Bitwise Industries and a second entity, Voyager Pacific Capital Management, indicating the fraud extended across multiple business vehicles.
The Bitwise fraud case extends beyond Hardcastle and Adler to include the company's founders and co-CEOs, Jake Soberal and Irma Olguin Jr. Federal prosecutors charged these executives with operating a $100 million fraud scheme that involved the deliberate alteration and fabrication of financial information intended to deceive and defraud investors. The company subsequently filed for bankruptcy, leaving significant losses in its wake.
According to court filings and prosecutor statements, the defendants employed "lie after lie" to perpetrate the scheme, with attorneys alleging coordinated efforts to misrepresent the company's financial condition and operational status. The guilty plea from Hardcastle represents another development in what has become a cascading series of fraud charges and convictions tied to the Bitwise collapse, with multiple co-conspirators now facing federal prosecution or serving sentences for their roles in the scheme.
Court documents reveal that Hardcastle and his business partner Andrew Adler loaned Bitwise Industries roughly $20 million in high-interest financing while systematically altering loan documents to deceive investors. Adler subsequently received a prison sentence of three years and five months for his role in the conspiracy. The scheme involved conspiracy to commit wire fraud spanning both Bitwise Industries and a second entity, Voyager Pacific Capital Management, indicating the fraud extended across multiple business vehicles.
The Bitwise fraud case extends beyond Hardcastle and Adler to include the company's founders and co-CEOs, Jake Soberal and Irma Olguin Jr. Federal prosecutors charged these executives with operating a $100 million fraud scheme that involved the deliberate alteration and fabrication of financial information intended to deceive and defraud investors. The company subsequently filed for bankruptcy, leaving significant losses in its wake.
According to court filings and prosecutor statements, the defendants employed "lie after lie" to perpetrate the scheme, with attorneys alleging coordinated efforts to misrepresent the company's financial condition and operational status. The guilty plea from Hardcastle represents another development in what has become a cascading series of fraud charges and convictions tied to the Bitwise collapse, with multiple co-conspirators now facing federal prosecution or serving sentences for their roles in the scheme.
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