The US SEC accused the former CFO of African Gold Acquisition Corp. in fraud for $5 million and theft of company budget funds, which he invested in digital assets.
According to a complaint filed by the SEC in the Southern District of New York, between June 2021 and July 2022, Cooper J. Morgenthau stole $1.2 million from his employer. He transferred money from the accounts of African Gold Acquisition, engaged in gold mining, to your personal bank and brokerage account. The attacker used the stolen funds to buy meme cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.
The regulator alleges that Morgenthau forged bank statements, inflating the company’s available balance to prevent management from discovering the shortfall. In this way, Morgenthau managed to deceive management and auditors for more than a year. Morgenthau also raised money from investors to open other Specialized Acquisition Companies (SPACs), according to the SEC. He managed to raise $4.7 million, some of which he used to recover money stolen from his employer.
“The lawsuit against Morgenthau demonstrates our willingness to hold individuals accountable when they try to take advantage of the public interest in investment vehicles such as SPAC. This case should serve as a lesson to those who commit misconduct in the SPAC market,” said John T. Dugan, deputy head of SEC enforcement in Boston.
US Attorney’s Office in New York opened a criminal case against Morgenthau. He agreed to an injunction that would stop him from holding management positions in public companies.
Recall that a few days ago, the American regulator accused the organizers of the CoinDeal cryptocurrency scheme of fraud and conducting an unregistered ICO.
Source: Bits
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