👮 GAW Miners CEO sentenced to 21 months in prison

After a multi-year saga the Josh Garza, the CEO of now-defunct crypto mining company GAW miners has been sentenced to 21 months in prison. Garza pleaded guilty to a wire fraud charge after being charged by the SEC for the unlicensed sale of securities and operating a Ponzi scheme in 2015. The charges were related to the sale of virtual miners, called "hashlets" which were ultimately deemed securities by the SEC as well as allegations that GAW was selling more hash power than it had the hardware for. A simulations case from the Justice Department focused on an offering of a cryptocurrency called Paycoin, which despite Garza's claims of a "$20 price floor" quickly dropped in price.