Ray Trapani and his high school friend, Sam “Sorbee” Sharma were the co-founders of Centra Tech. Upon its establishment, this company fraudulently claimed that they were raising funds through an initial coin offering (ICO). Furthermore, their cryptocurrency was going to be named, Centra.
Cetra would work like other cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, Ether, and Dogecoin. The most significant advantage of these currencies is that the transactions are done via a decentralized system. This means there is zero involvement from banks or the government. As Centra Tech’s popularity rose, famous names such as Floyd Mayweather Jr. and DJ Khaled endorsed them. However, according to Tudum by Netflix, everything came crashing down after New York Times journalist Nathaniel Popper’s expose.
In Bitconned, Ray Trapani says that illegal activity always fascinated him. Before the establishment of Centra Tech, Trapani ran an unlawful prescription drug business with his friends. After its failure, he cleaned up his act by running a legitimate company with two former classmates. His new company rented out exotic and luxury vehicles to white-collared residents of Miami.
For his role in Centra Tech, the FBI arrested him in 2018. However, since he cooperated with federal authorities, he received lenient treatment. According to The Cinemaholic, Ray Trapani currently splits his time between New York and Florida. Still in his early 30s, he has a son with his partner, Kimberly Costanzo.
According to IMDb, the synopsis of the 1 hour 34 minutes long documentary reads,
“In this true-crime documentary, three guys exploit the freewheeling cryptocurrency market to scam millions from investors and bankroll lavish lifestyles.”
Bitconned is directed by Bryan Storkel. He is best known for being the producer of The Legend of Cocaine Island and the director of The Pez Outlaw.
Bitconned On Netflix: When did Ray Trapani and Sam Sharma co-found Centra Tech?
Ray Trapani and Sam “Sorbee” Sharma founded Centra Tech in the year 2017. Sharma introduced Trapani to the lucrative world of cryptocurrency. Furthermore, Trapani was in heavy debt from student loans and needed a way to make a lot of money.
In Bitconned, Trapani says, “Ever since I was a kid, I always wanted to be a criminal. It was never like, ‘I’m gonna be a doctor,’ or ‘I’m gonna be a scientist.’ If I could have put it in my yearbook, I would have put: ‘I wanna be a criminal.”
Centra Tech’s official website claimed that they had an elaborate system to make money. Furthermore, it also stated that the executive team had degrees from Ivy League colleges. However, none of this was true. In the documentary, Trapani further states, “We didn’t know anything about this f*cking business. But it didn’t matter at all. …. We lied, we cheated, we made millions of dollars.”
New York Times journalist, Nathaniel Popper said, “Centra was the archetype of what was wrong with cryptocurrency. During the ICO boom, you had people doing these serious projects — kids with PhDs from Stanford, from MIT — at the same time as you had these kids who were agents at rental car companies in Miami who were raising the exact same amount of money as the PhDs from MIT — without any experience.”
In the end, Ray Trapani, Sam Sharma, and another individual named Robert Farkas were convicted of several crimes. Since Trapani cooperated with officials, the court sentenced him to one year and one day in prison.
Robert Farkas was sentenced to one year and one day in prison. However, Coin Desk reports that on March 5, 2021, Sam Sharma received an eight-year sentence.
