The Justice Department has accused Rikesh Thapa of defrauding his start-up tech firm of more than $1 million in U.S. currency, cryptocurrency and utility tokens, according to a press release on Wednesday.
The 28-year-old Thapa was arrested on Wednesday in the Southern District of California.
The Justice Department did not name the victim company, but it appears to be New York City-based Blockparty, a company that developed a blockchain-based protocol for live event tickets. Thapa’s LinkedIn profile lists himself as a founder and CTO for Blockparty from Oct. 2017 to Dec. 2019.
According to the indictment, in 2018, Thapa agreed to receive and hold $1 million of his company’s money in his personal bank account while the firm explored other banking options. Thapa soon began using the funds on personal expenses such as nightclubs, travel and clothing, despite re-assuring the company that he was only holding the money “for safekeeping.”
Thapa even falsified bank statements to conceal his theft, and in 2019, he refused to return the $1 million, according to the indictment.
The San Diego native is also accused of embezzling at least 10 bitcoin from his company, as well as stealing its utility tokens.
Thapa is being charged with one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 year in prison.
