67 Investors Paid $10M for NFT Tokens That Launched Worthless

Key Takeaways

• Prosecutors say Tarsha raised more than $10 million from 67 investors.
• Investor funds allegedly went to gambling, crypto, and personal spending.
• FAR collapsed more than 99% after its May 2024 market debut.

Founder Indicted Over $10 Million NFT Marketplace Raise

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Aug. 5 that Few and Far founder Taj Tarsha had been indicted on securities and wire fraud charges tied to more than $10 million raised for an NFT marketplace. Tarsha was the founder and sole equity owner of the company, which had brought no product to market when the raise began.

Beginning in February 2022, Tarsha sold rights to 95 million FAR tokens through Simple Agreements for Future Tokens, collecting more than $10 million from at least 67 investors. According to prosecutors, offering materials represented that the money would fund development of the Few and Far marketplace for non-fungible tokens and the FAR token meant to circulate through it. Those blockchain-based assets represent ownership of unique items rather than interchangeable units.

Deputy United States Attorney Sean S. Buckley detailed:

“As alleged, Taj Tarsha raised millions of dollars from investors by promising that their investments would be used to build a marketplace for non-fungible tokens, but he instead breached their trust by stealing those funds for his own personal benefit.”