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.
-
Basic PageTrump wants SEC to toss quarterly reporting requirement
President Donald Trump is pushing for a shake-up in corporate reporting rules, calling on companies to file earnings with the SEC only twice a year instead of every quarter.
-
News BriefFTC orders AI firms to disclose safeguards for children and teens
AI chatbots are increasingly used by children and teens, prompting the FTC to order seven AI companies to explain how they monitor potential harms to minors.
More from Regulatory Enforcement
-
News BriefDOJ sues Uber over alleged discrimination against disabled riders
The DOJ sued Uber Thursday, alleging it violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by denying people with disabilities equal access to its services.
-
ArticleEU targets crypto, fintech firms in push to tackle money laundering
Europe’s banking regulator warns that weak compliance at fintech, regtech, and crypto firms may let money laundering and terrorist financing risks slip through. The EBA also found EU regulators’ approaches are often inconsistent and unclear.
-
ArticleCalifornia, Colorado, and Connecticut launch joint crackdown on privacy violators
California, Colorado, and Connecticut launched a joint enforcement sweep against businesses that fail to honor consumers’ online opt-out requests, the states announced Tuesday.