Former SPAC CFO pleads guilty to embezzlement scheme
By 
Kyle Brasseur2023-01-04T18:50:00
The former chief financial officer of African Gold Acquisition Corp. pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud after embezzling more than $5 million for personal stock and cryptocurrency ventures.
Cooper Morgenthau agreed to forfeit approximately $5.1 million and pay restitution of approximately $5.1 million as part of his plea announced Tuesday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. He is set to be sentenced in April and faces up to 20 years in prison.
Morgenthau was also charged with fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Related articles
-
News Brief
SEC fines SPAC $104K for control failures that enabled CFO embezzlement
African Gold Acquisition Corp. will pay a $103,591 fine for allegedly having flawed internal controls, reporting, and recordkeeping procedures that allowed its former chief financial officer to drain approximately $1.2 million from its bank account.
-
WebcastCPE Webcast: Risky Business: Navigating Compliant Innovation Amid Deregulation
The compliance landscape has entered unprecedented territory, characterized by what industry experts describe as “deregulation on top of deregulation” – a dangerous departure from the traditional regulatory cycle that historically provided stability and clear guidance.
-
ArticleJPMorgan Chase pays $330M to settle Malaysian fund allegations
JPMorgan Chase has agreed to pay $330 million to settle allegations about its role in the massive, decades-long theft of Malaysian’s 1MDB state investment fund, the bank says. An estimated $4.5 billion was robbed from the 1MDB fund, from 2009-2014, in a scheme led by Malaysian financier, Jho Low, former ...
More from Regulatory Enforcement
-
ArticleOCC lifts AML consent order on Anchorage Digital
Crypto platform Anchorage Digital has been freed of a consent order originally issued by the Treasury Department for anti-money laundering failures.
-
News BriefDOJ charges California fintech executives in $248M fraud involving falsified documents
The co-founders of a California financial tech and sustainability services company defrauded investors and lenders of $248 million, according to the Department of Justice.
-
News BriefFTC complaint accuses LA Fitness parent companies of blocking easy membership exits
The Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint against LA Fitness’ parent companies, citing difficulties canceling memberships, a month after a court blocked the agency’s click-to-cancel rule.