Bitwise co-founders and former CEOs Jake Soberal and Irma Olguin Jr. appeared in federal court for the second time on Friday for their bond hearing.
In the ultimately uneventful event, United States Magistrate Judge Barbara McAuliffe reviewed the property bonds that Soberal and Olguin are in the process of submitting.
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The backstory: Soberal and Olguin pleaded not guilty to a charge of conspiring to commit wire fraud on Nov. 10.
- The federal government accused the duo of defrauding more than $100 million from businesses and individuals.
- FBI Assistant Special Agent Crosby Brackett said at the time that their operations with Bitwise were an “unsustainable Ponzi scheme.”
- The government did not request that they be detained.
The big picture: Immediately before heading to the courtroom on Friday afternoon Soberal and his attorney submitted the bond paperwork with the clerk’s office.
- Soberal is putting up his house as his bond.
- Olguin is putting up her mother’s house as her bond. Her attorney, Dan Olmos, told McAuliffe that the paperwork should be filed with the clerk’s office on Monday. Olguin’s mother has been in rural Oregon for the past few weeks.
- McAuliffe did not discuss the value of their properties for their bonds.
- Along with the bond review, the government requested that Soberal and Olguin be supervised by pretrial services, which they agreed to. Since neither has a criminal record, McAuliffe said the supervision could be removed at a later date.
- Soberal and Olguin will return to court on Jan. 25 for another hearing.
