Ray Trapani was one of many Americans who wanted to get rich quick. He is the star of the upcoming Netflix documentary “Bitconned”, which follows his involvement in a massive cryptocurrency scheme.
Little is known about Ray Trapani’s past, but his LinkedIn shows that he was the CEO of Miami Exotics, a luxury car rental company, and a General Foreman at Safeway Atlantic from 2011-2014. He is in his early 30’s and currently resides in Florida.
Ray Trapani wanted to “finesse the system” to become wealthy and live a lavish lifestyle. He took advantage of the Bitcoin boom and ended up getting arrested in April 2018. He was charged with securities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud. He pled guilty and was ordered to pay nearly $3 million in fines.
Centra Tech was the software development company Trapani co-founded in 2016. It claimed to have developed platforms connecting world commerce and cryptocurrencies, such as the Centra Card, which allowed cardholders to spend their cryptocurrencies in fiat currency transactions. However, the company’s alleged partnerships with Bancorp, Visa, and Mastercard were false. The Federal Bureau of Investigation found that Centra never had these partnerships and was not licensed to operate in the US. The company’s executive team and CEO were also fabricated.
In 2021, the US Marshals Service sold the seized Ether units for $33.4 million to reimburse victims of the Centra Tech fraud.
Ray Trapani is set to star in the Netflix documentary “Bitconned” directed by Bryan Storkel, which will debut on January 1, 2024. The documentary follows Trapani and his family as he guides viewers through his journey, as well as the journalist who exposed Centra Tech as the first high-profile fraud case of the crypto era.
The other two co-founders of Centra Tech, Robert Joseph Farkas and Sam Sharma, were also charged for their involvement in the cryptocurrency scheme. Farkas was sentenced to one year and one day in prison, three years of supervised release, and was fined nearly $350,000. Sharma was sentenced to eight years in jail, three years of supervised release, and was fined $20,000.
