The founder of the NFT project Few and Far is accused of misappropriating tens of millions of dollars in funding and has been sued by the U.S. Department of Justice

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Taj Tarsha, the founder of the NFT market project Few and Far, has been charged with securities fraud and wire fraud, accused of concealing the use of funds from investors and misappropriating financing for personal consumption.

According to the indictment, Tarsha raised funds from investors starting in 2022 through a SAFT (Simple Agreement for Future Tokens), claiming that the funds would be used to develop a decentralized NFT trading market and the FAR token ecosystem.

Prosecutors stated that Tarsha raised over $10 million from at least 67 investors by selling approximately 95 million FAR token rights. However, shortly after the fundraising, he allegedly used investor funds for personal purposes, including online gambling, purchasing high-risk crypto assets, paying for a Miami apartment loan, interior design expenses, and personal DJ activities.

The indictment documents show that Tarsha also allegedly misappropriated nearly $1 million in company funds through two bonuses that were not disclosed to investors and co-founders, as well as through high salaries. After an audit revealed anomalies in the related funds, Tarsha was accused of providing false explanations to investors, claiming that the use of funds was in line with project development needs.