Key Takeaways
- • Second lender pleads guilty: Andrew Adler, 31, of Greenwich, Connecticut, pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a $20 million loan scheme involving failed Fresno-based startup Bitwise Industries, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
- • Scheme involved signature forgery and interest obscurement: Adler and business partner David Hardcastle, 61, provided loans to Bitwise through an investor syndicate while concealing the company's interest obligations and forging the signature of co-CEO Jake Soberal.
- • Bitwise collapse triggered cascading prosecutions: The company failed to repay loans before collapsing in May 2023, leading to multiple guilty pleas; Bitwise co-CEOs Jake Soberal and Irma Olguin Jr. were sentenced in December to 11 and 9 years in prison respectively for a broader $115 million wire fraud scheme.
- • Adler faces 20-year maximum sentence: Scheduled for sentencing on June 2, 2026, Adler faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine; his co-defendant Hardcastle remains pending trial on six counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and substantive wire fraud.
- • FBI investigation ongoing: The prosecutions stem from an FBI investigation into the Bitwise fraud, with charges advancing systematically through the organizational hierarchy from founders to secondary lenders.
Summary
Andrew Adler, a 31-year-old hard money lender from Greenwich, Connecticut, pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a $20 million loan scheme targeting the now-defunct Bitwise Industries. Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced the plea, marking the second major guilty plea in a sprawling fraud case that has exposed systematic deception across multiple organizational levels at the Fresno-based startup.
Adler and his business partner David Hardcastle, 61, a Fresno resident, operated a lending syndicate that provided capital to Bitwise while simultaneously defrauding the underlying investors in those loans. According to the Department of Justice, the two lenders obscured the amount of interest Bitwise was obligated to pay and forged the signature of company co-CEO Jake Soberal on loan documents. The fraudulent scheme unraveled when Bitwise collapsed in May 2023 without repaying the loans, prompting federal investigators to unwind the financing structures and prosecute participants across the organization.
The Adler guilty plea follows the December 2025 sentencing of Bitwise co-founders Jake Soberal and Irma Olguin Jr., who received 11 and 9 years in prison respectively after pleading guilty to wire fraud charges related to a larger $115 million fraud scheme. Hardcastle, Adler's co-defendant, was indicted by a federal grand jury on January 30, 2026, on six counts including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and substantive wire fraud; his case remains pending trial. Adler is scheduled for sentencing on June 2, 2026, by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The FBI investigation has proceeded methodically, establishing clear liability chains from corporate leadership through secondary financial intermediaries.
Adler and his business partner David Hardcastle, 61, a Fresno resident, operated a lending syndicate that provided capital to Bitwise while simultaneously defrauding the underlying investors in those loans. According to the Department of Justice, the two lenders obscured the amount of interest Bitwise was obligated to pay and forged the signature of company co-CEO Jake Soberal on loan documents. The fraudulent scheme unraveled when Bitwise collapsed in May 2023 without repaying the loans, prompting federal investigators to unwind the financing structures and prosecute participants across the organization.
The Adler guilty plea follows the December 2025 sentencing of Bitwise co-founders Jake Soberal and Irma Olguin Jr., who received 11 and 9 years in prison respectively after pleading guilty to wire fraud charges related to a larger $115 million fraud scheme. Hardcastle, Adler's co-defendant, was indicted by a federal grand jury on January 30, 2026, on six counts including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and substantive wire fraud; his case remains pending trial. Adler is scheduled for sentencing on June 2, 2026, by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The FBI investigation has proceeded methodically, establishing clear liability chains from corporate leadership through secondary financial intermediaries.
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