SEC Issued Fraud Charges Against Cooper Morgenthau

January 4, 2023 Story: Divya Sinha

On Tuesday, the US Securities and Exchange Commission issued fraud charges against Cooper Morgenthau, Ex CFO of SPACs, aged 35, for stealing more than $5 million.

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Regulators have alleged that he had stolen funds from another SPAC series to pay for his personal expenses and trade meme coin and cryptocurrencies.

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He can face a possible sentence of approximately six to seven and a half years in prison, scheduled for April 25, under recommended federal guidelines.

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He also forfeited $5.11 million, agreed to pay an equal amount in damages, and settled related civil charges by US SEC.

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Authorities said Morgenthau stole more than $1.2 million from African Gold Acquisition Corp between June 2021 and August 2022 and altered bank statements to commit the theft and lost all of it.

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The SEC said, to make up for the loss, Morgenthau raised $4.7 million from investors in a SPAC known as Strategic Metals Acquisition Corp, most of which he lost in cryptocurrency trading.

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U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said that in Morgenthau’s guilty plea, he admitted to betraying the trust owed to public and private investors.

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