The former chief financial officer of two special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) African Gold (AGAC) and Strategic Metals Acquisition Corp (SMAC), Cooper Morgenthau, has been sentenced to three years in prison for embezzling $5 million to trade cryptocurrencies and “meme stocks.”
A press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on April 27 stated that Morgenthau misappropriated more than $5 million from three different SPACs — AGAC, SMAC I, and SMAC II — between June 2021 and August 2022.
According to the SEC’s civil lawsuit, Morgenthau transferred approximately $1.2 million from AGAC to his own personal account and used the money to trade cryptocurrency options and meme stocks. In the process, he lost nearly all of his funds.
Morgenthau pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on January 3. In addition to being sentenced to three years in prison, he was ordered to forfeit $5.1 million and pay $5.1 million in restitution. (Cointelegraph)