Tech
How Ray Trapani Scammed the Cryptocurrency World and Got Away With It
Bitconned is a story of scams, backstabbing and a failed justice system set in the world of cryptocurrencies. At the center of the Netflix documentary is Ray Trapani, a charismatic con man who lives a lifestyle full of gambling, luxury clothes and flashy cars. “Ever since I was a child, I always wanted to be a criminal,” he says, setting the tone for the film and his successful evasion of justice.
In 2017, Trapani and his partner, Sohrab “Sam” Sharma, launched Centra Tech, a company that promised a revolution with an innovative debit card that facilitated cryptocurrency spending. Centra Tech quickly became a money-making machine. But the façade of innovation eventually collapsed, exposing the company as an elaborate scam. Trapani and his partner had fabricated resumes, business partnerships and licenses, lied about the capabilities of their technology and even hired a fictitious CEO.
The scam is disheartening: confident investors lost over $25 million. The way the justice system handled Trapani’s case only added insult to injury. While Sharma is serving an eight-year sentence and Centra Tech’s chief financial officer a year, Trapani escaped prison after what the judge called “extraordinary” cooperation with the prosecution.
The legal system’s leniency towards Trapani becomes even more infuriating as he proudly confesses his crimes and exposes the loopholes that allowed him to evade accountability. “It was just too easy to do,” he boasts.