Michele Beckwith Acting U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California
Andrew Adler, a 31-year-old from Greenwich, Connecticut, has admitted guilt in a scheme to defraud investors of $20 million. The funds were tied to loans made to Bitwise Industries, a start-up based in Fresno that ultimately failed. This announcement was made by Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith.
Court records reveal that between December 2022 and May 2023, Adler and his business partner David Hardcastle, aged 61 from Fresno, issued approximately $20 million in hard money loans to Bitwise through their entity Startop Investments LLC. They secured funding for these loans via a syndicate of investors. To deceive the investors, Adler and Hardcastle altered loan documents to suggest that Bitwise was liable for significantly lower interest rates than reality. Additionally, they forged the signature of Jake Soberal, Co-CEO of Bitwise, on these documents. This manipulation made the loans appear less risky and more attractive to potential investors.
Adler and Hardcastle received substantial origination fees from these loans and stood to gain millions more from undisclosed higher interest rates had the loans been repaid in full. However, when Bitwise collapsed without repaying the loans, investors lost nearly all their money. On February 3, 2025, Hardcastle was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud.
The FBI conducted an investigation leading to this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph D. Barton and Cody S. Chapple are handling prosecution duties.
Adler's sentencing is scheduled for June 2, 2025, before U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston. He faces up to 20 years in prison along with a $250,000 fine for conspiracy to commit wire fraud charges. If convicted on similar charges as well as substantive wire fraud charges, Hardcastle could face identical penalties.
Charges against Hardcastle remain pending; he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt according to legal standards.
