Cooper Morgenthau, a former CFO of numerous special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $5 million from the businesses and losing almost all of it trading meme stocks and cryptocurrencies. Before a U.S. District Judge in Manhattan on Tuesday, Morgenthau, 35, of Fernandina Beach, Florida, was guilty of one count of wire fraud. At his sentencing on April 25, he will likely receive a prison term of six to seven and a half years. He has also agreed to lose $5.11 million and make a corresponding payment in restitution.
In connection with the civil accusations, Morgenthau and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have reached a settlement.
Authorities claim that Morgenthau stole more than $1.2 million from African Gold Acquisition Corp between June 2021 and August 2022 and hid the fraud by fabricating the company’s account statements. The cash were then all used or lost by him in trading securities. Morgenthau obtained $4.7 million from investors in SPACs known as Strategic Metals Acquisition Corp in an effort to make up for his losses, but he lost the majority of it through cryptocurrency trading.
Morgenthau was fired last August by African Gold, a New York-based firm established to buy a gold mining operation, after he ran out of money and suppliers refused to do business with it.
According to U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, Morgenthau “confessed that he betrayed the trust that he owed to his public and private investors” in his plea.
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