Looks like Cooper Morgenthau couldn’t resist the siren call of the memecoins, and we don’t even blame him? Who doesn’t love a good Dogecoin meme? But Morgenthau’s love turned into obsession as he took things a little too far and embezzled over $5 million from African Gold Acquisition Corporation (AGAC) and two other SPACs.
Yikes, talk about getting caught with your hand in the cookie jar!
To make matters worse, after embezzling $5 million and trading it in cryptocurrencies and “meme stocks” Morgenthau then tried to cover up his tracks by falsifying documents and even raising more funds from private investors, all under false pretenses.
In a SPAC distinct from African Gold, Morgenthau went on to raise an additional $4.7 million from private investors under the false pretense that the funds would be used to establish yet another SPAC.
He covered his losses at African Gold with the newly acquired funds before continuing to trade meme stocks and cryptocurrencies.
And what did he do with all that extra cash? Well, he decided to keep playing the market and ended up losing almost all of it. Ouch, that’s gotta hurt!
AGAC discovered the embezzlement in August 2022, terminated Morgenthau, and informed the SEC of his fraudulent activities. In January 2023, the former CFO pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.
But hey, at least justice was served in the end as Morgenthau was sentenced to three years in prison apart from forfeiting $5.1 million and paying even more in restitution. So, let this be a lesson to all you Wall Street wolves out there – sometimes the greediest of schemes can land you in a world of trouble.
Also Read: CFTC Claims Record $3.4 Billion Judgment in Bitcoin Fraud Case
