Founder Indicted After $10M NFT Raise, Token Collapsed

Federal prosecutors say Taj Tarsha, founder and sole equity owner of Few and Far, raised more than $10 million from 67 investors beginning in February 2022. He sold rights to 95 million FAR tokens through Simple Agreements for Future Tokens, the filings say. Offering materials described the funds as financing a Few and Far NFT marketplace and a circulating token.

Prosecutors allege Tarsha moved investor money into personal wallets and spent it on online gambling and speculative cryptocurrency purchases soon after funds arrived. The indictment lists other personal expenses including a loan on a Miami condominium, interior design work, payments to an unrelated business and costs tied to his work as a DJ. Court filings say Tarsha also took nearly $1 million in compensation that he concealed from investors and a co-founder, including two bonuses and a salary prosecutors describe as unreasonable for a company with no product and no revenue.

An internal audit in June 2023 flagged the spending, the indictment states. Prosecutors contend Tarsha regained control of the company treasury, fired nearly all staff and retained a single contractor to give the appearance of ongoing development while personal spending continued for at least another year.

When the FAR token debuted in May 2024, more than two years after the earliest investors bought rights, its market value fell more than 99 percent and trading soon halted, the filings say.

Tarsha, 34, of Miami, was arrested on June 6 and was indicted on Aug. 5 on one count of securities fraud and one count of wire fraud. Each count carries a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years.

In court filings, Deputy U.S. Attorney Sean S. Buckley wrote: “As alleged, Taj Tarsha raised millions of dollars from investors by promising that their investments would be used to build a marketplace for non-fungible tokens, but he instead breached their trust by stealing those funds for his own personal benefit.”

Federal prosecutors have pursued similar charges in other matters where project leaders sold NFTs or tokens to raise money and then transferred funds away before delivering promised products or services.