Centra Tech’s 2017 pitch was pure ICO-era theatre: a debit card that would spend crypto anywhere Visa or Mastercard worked, wrapped in posts from Floyd Mayweather Jr. and DJ Khaled. The raise was reported in the tens of millions. The plumbing did not match the posters. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleged fake executive identities and claimed card-network partnerships that were not real, and filed a civil action against co-founders; U.S. prosecutors brought parallel criminal charges.
According to contemporary court reporting, co-founders later faced guilty pleas and prison sentences for key figures. Separately, the SEC settled touting charges with Mayweather and Khaled for promoting the offering without disclosing what they were paid — a reminder that a famous face is advertising, not diligence. Neither settlement turned a celebrity into an auditor of the token’s technology.
The durable lesson is dull. Celebrity screenshots are not licences. Card-network logos on a landing page are not contracts you can verify. If a token sale needs a fighter’s Instagram more than audited partners and clear securities paperwork, assume the marketing is the product.
Start at Get help for reporting routes. If anyone later sells a guaranteed clawback, read Fake recovery first.
This article is for general information only. It is not legal or financial advice. Details change. If you have lost money, contact your bank or card issuer and use the routes on the help pages.