David Hardcastle, 61, of Fresno, pleaded guilty on Apr. 20 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in two separate cases that caused a combined loss of about $45 million, according to U.S. Attorney Eric Grant.
The cases involve complex schemes related to hard money loans and real estate investments. These developments are significant as they highlight the risks investors face from fraudulent financial activities and the ongoing efforts by federal authorities to address such crimes.
According to court documents, Hardcastle and his business partner Andrew Adler loaned Bitwise Industries around $20 million through Startop Investments LLC between December 2022 and May 2023. They altered loan documents and forged signatures, making the loans appear less risky than they were so they could sell them more easily to other investors. The pair also collected large origination fees and planned for secret profits from undisclosed higher interest rates if the loans were repaid in full. Additionally, reserve funds meant for investor protection were instead used for unauthorized investments by Hardcastle and Adler; when Bitwise collapsed in May 2023 without repaying its debts, investors lost almost all their money.
Adler previously pleaded guilty in this case and was sentenced on June 2, 2025, to three years and five months in prison. Bitwise Industries' former leaders Jake Soberal and Irma Olguin Jr., who controlled several related companies, also pleaded guilty for defrauding lenders including Startop out of approximately $115 million; Soberal received an eleven-year sentence while Olguin Jr. was sentenced to nine years.
In a separate scheme at Voyager Pacific Capital Management—where Hardcastle served as chief executive officer—he misrepresented how investor funds would be used between June 2020 and January 2025. Instead of acquiring properties or tax liens as promised for Opportunity Fund II participants, he diverted money toward paying other investors or personal uses while providing false financial updates about fund performance. Some underperforming properties were sold only on paper among insiders without disclosure or actual transactions so that management fees could continue despite declining asset values.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated both cases with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Barton and Cody Chapple prosecuting them. Hardcastle is scheduled for sentencing before U.S District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on Sept. 14; he faces up to twenty years imprisonment plus a fine up to $250,000—the actual sentence will depend on statutory factors considered by the court under federal guidelines.
The U.S Attorney’s Office overseeing these prosecutions operates under the Department of Justice according to its official website. The office enforces federal laws across more than eighty-seven thousand square miles spanning thirty-four counties from Oregon’s border southward past Bakersfield according to its official website. With branches in Sacramento, Fresno, and Bakersfield according to its official website, it manages both criminal prosecutions—including those like Hardcastle’s—and civil litigation representing government interests.
