The former chief financial officer for a group of SPACs was sentenced to three years in prison for a scheme to embezzle more than $5 million to trade in crypto assets and meme stocks, Bloomberg reports.
Cooper Morgenthau, 36, formerly with African Gold Acquisition, admitted stealing the money from the SPACs for more than a year beginning in June 2021. He was sentenced in a hearing on Thursday, Manhattan US Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement.
The SEC in February settled charges against African Gold Acquisition for internal controls, reporting, and recordkeeping violations. The failures enabled the SPAC’s former CFO to misappropriate approximately $1.2 million from the company’s operating bank account. As a result, African Gold made materially false filings with the commission and maintained inaccurate books and records, the SEC said. No monies were taken from African Gold’s trust. Read more.
