The former chief financial officer of the African Gold Acquisition Corp SPAC has been sentenced to three years behind bars for embezzling over US$5mln from investors which he used to trade meme stocks and cryptocurrencies.
Cooper Morgenthau was found guilty by US attorney Damian Williams, who accused Morgenthau of fabricating bank statements and public filings with US regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Morgenthau’s crypto and stock picks wiped out nearly all of the embezzled funds.
“Fraud in the SPAC markets will be punished, and greed on Wall Street will be met with serious consequences,” said US attorney Damian Williams when dishing out the ruling.
Florida native Morgenthau previously pled guilty to one count of wire fraud.
In addition to his prison term, he was also ordered to pay US$5.1mln in restitution.