【Watch Black Water: Abyss Online】

The Watch Black Water: Abyss Onlinetwo co-founders of Centra, a cryptocurrency initial coin offering (ICO), that was endorsed by musician DJ Khaled and boxer Floyd Mayweather, have been arrested and charged with fraud.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleges that Sohrab “Sam” Sharma and Robert Farkas "masterminded a fraudulent ICO in which Centra offered and sold unregistered investments through a 'CTR Token.'"

SEE ALSO: Google to ban cryptocurrency ads in June

The charges boil down to Sharma and Farkas making promises to investors that were completely unfounded, including offering a debit card backed by Visa and MasterCard, even though they had no relationship with either company. Furthermore the SEC alleges that the two "created fictional executives with impressive biographies, posted false or misleading marketing materials to Centra’s website, and paid celebrities to tout the ICO on social media."

Credit: STEVEN PASTON - PA IMAGES / CONTRIBUTOR / GETTYIMAGES

Though he isn't mentioned by name in SEC's report, those celebrities include Floyd Mayweather, who had endorsed Centra in Sept. last year in a (now deleted) Instagram post.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

Centra advertised a digital wallet and a prepaid card for cryptocurrencies, as well as a marketplace to buy goods with crypotcurrencies, an exchange platform and an entirely new "hyper speed" blockchain. The company raised more than $32 million in its ICO in September.

According to SEC's complaint, Farkas was arrested as he was preparing to board a flight and leave the U.S.. Sharma is also in custody but there are no details about that particular arrest.

Mayweather had endorsed at least two other blockchain-related startups in 2017 -- Stox and Hubii -- both of whom went on to raise millions of dollars in their ICOs.

The SEC warned about the dangers of investing in ICO on several occasions. In Dec. 2017, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton warned about fraud and manipulation in the largely-unregulated ICO market.

---

Featured Video For You

---

This bitcoin wallet claims to be hack-proof

---

Topics Cryptocurrency Celebrities

• Deals
• Tech
• Games
• Life
• Digital Culture
• Social Good
• Entertainment
• Shopping

• Today's Hurdle hints and answers for May 5, 2025
• iPhone 12 Pro uses LiDAR to detect people near you
• Facebook pauses groups recommendation feature until after election
• Verified 'Elon Musk' Twitter account celebrates election with crypto scam
• Best keyboard deals: Save on Asus gaming keyboards at Amazon
• Guo Pei's costumes are the superstars of Netflix's 'Over the Moon'
• From pizza to playlists, how to help people standing in line to vote
• Guo Pei's costumes are the superstars of Netflix's 'Over the Moon'
• Character AI reveals AvatarFX, a new AI video generator
• 'The Mandalorian' Season 2 premiere recap: "The Marshal"

• What's Queer Form Anyway? An Interview with Maggie Nelson
• Joan Quigley, Ronald Reagan’s Guide to the Stars by Jessica Weisberg
• Redux: Celebrating Pride Month by The Paris Review
• Poetry Rx: It’s Not Sad at All, Any of It
• Best early Cyber Monday vacuum deals 2023: Shark, Dyson, and more
• Carnival and Chaos: An Interview with Herbert Gold by Robert Kaiser
• 15+ early Cyber Monday 2023 Chromebook deals at Best Buy
• Early Cyber Monday Apple Watch deals: Get an SE for $179
• Redux: Three for Dad by The Paris Review
• A Disgruntled Federal Employee’s 1980s Desk Calendar

• Trump delays TikTok ban for another 75 days
• Google cancels The Daily Stormer's domain registration just hours after GoDaddy warning
• Google lists Halloween 2020's most popular costumes
• University apparel emblazoned with 'CUM' is a chaotic internet mystery
• Operation Mensch
• Instagram husband's parody wellness account is comedy gold
• Good news you might have missed from Election Day 2020
• What Prop. 22 could mean for the gig economy nationwide
• Apple is reportedly still working on smart glasses of some kind
• Mariah Carey kicks off the holiday season, those are the rules

• Weather app glitch makes it look like hell is basically freezing over
• How to make money on Zoom and Facebook classes
• This guy's amazing Tinder profile is a PowerPoint sales pitch
• Why chilling statues of women have appeared in buses in South Korea
• Best security deal: The 8
• Mariah Carey kicks off the holiday season, those are the rules
• From pizza to playlists, how to help people standing in line to vote
• You might be able to test out Dark Mode in the Facebook app right now
• Stop Preordering Video Games
• A rare white moose has been spotted and if you wanna freak out, that's cool