Bitwise Industries filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in Delaware in 2023. Photo by Ben Hensley

Fresno hard money lender David Hardcastle pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in two fraud schemes related to Bitwise Industries and Voyager Pacific Capital Management that caused roughly $45 million in investor losses, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Monday.

Hardcastle, 61, admitted to his role in a scheme involving around $20 million in high-interest loans made to Bitwise through Startop Investments LLC, a special purpose entity he operated with Andrew Adler.

Prosecutors said that Hardcastle and Adler altered loan documents to make the investments look less risky, forged the signature of Bitwise Co-CEO Jake Soberal and failed to disclose key terms to investors, including higher interest rates and a $700,000 interest reserve intended to protect lenders.

The pair used reserve funds for an unrelated investment without investor authorization. When Bitwise collapsed in 2023, investors lost nearly all of their money.

Adler had pleaded guilty and was sentenced in June 2025 to three years and five months in prison.

The case adds yet another chapter to the fallout from Bitwise Industries, whose former executives Soberal and Irma Olguin Jr., were sentenced in 2024 for a separate $115 million fraud involving investors and lenders.

Hardcastle also pleaded guilty in a second scheme involving Voyager Pacific Capital Management, a Florida-based real estate investment firm where he served as CEO.
Court documents show that Hardcastle and others misled investors in Voyager’s Opportunity Fund II between 2020 and 2025, using new investors to pay returns to other participants in a Ponzi-style arrangement.

Losses tied to the Voyager scheme contributed to the $45 million total cited by federal authorities. Hardcastle faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fee. He is scheduled for sentencing Sept. 14.