Taj Tarsha, founder of NFT marketplace Few and Far, faces federal fraud charges after allegedly pocketing over $10 million raised from 67 investors. The US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York indicted the 34-year-old Miami resident on counts of securities fraud and wire fraud.
Tarsha launched his fundraise in February 2022 using SAFTs, contracts that let backers pay upfront for tokens delivered later. He sold 95 million FAR tokens at roughly 11 cents each, pulling in close to $150,000 per investor. The pitch seemed legit: Few and Far ran on NEAR Protocol, and the NEAR Foundation announced a grant and partnership just months later.
Money started vanishing almost immediately. Prosecutors say Tarsha siphoned funds to online casinos, speculative crypto trades, a Miami condo loan, interior design work, and his DJ hobby. He also handed himself nearly $1 million in hidden bonuses through two secret payments, then lied to investors and a co-founder about where the cash went.
An audit in June 2023 finally flagged the missing money. By then, Tarsha had already burned through most of it. When confronted, he claimed the bonuses matched preset presale targets and that every remaining dollar was essential for development. Both statements were false, prosecutors allege. Nearly all staff had vanished. One contractor stayed on, instructed to produce work that merely looked like progress.
The spending spree continued for 11 months after the audit. FAR finally launched in May 2024, a full 27 months after the first investor paid in. The token arrived worthless and stopped trading shortly after. The Few and Far website still advertises FAR as live on mainnet today.
This article is informational only and should not be construed as financial advice or investment recommendation.
