FRESNO HARD MONEY LENDER PLEADS GUILTY IN $45 MILLION INVESTOR FRAUD CASE: FEDERAL PROSECUTION DETAILS DOCUMENT TAMPERING, UNDISCLOSED LOAN TERMS, AND MULTI-YEAR PONZI-STYLE OPERATION

A federal fraud case in the Eastern District of California has resulted in a guilty plea from a Fresno-based hard money lender tied to two separate investment schemes that collectively generated approximately $45 million in investor losses, exposing layered financial manipulation across private lending and real estate investment structures.

David Hardcastle, 61, of Fresno, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud following a federal investigation into his role in two distinct operations: a high-interest loan scheme involving Bitwise Industries and a long-running real estate investment fraud connected to Voyager Pacific Capital Management.

Court records outline two parallel fraud tracks operating between 2020 and 2025, both built on misrepresentation of financial risk, falsification of documentation, and diversion of investor funds away from disclosed purposes.

In the first scheme, Hardcastle partnered with Andrew Adler, 32, of Greenwich, Connecticut, to issue approximately $20 million in high-interest “hard money” loans to Bitwise Industries through a special-purpose entity, Startop Investments LLC. These loans were subsequently broken into portions and sold to outside investors as investment products.

Prosecutors state that Hardcastle and Adler altered original loan agreements before presenting them to investors, reducing the apparent interest obligations owed by Bitwise. The altered documents created the appearance of lower risk exposure while concealing the true high-interest structure of the loans. Investigators further allege that the forged signature of Bitwise Co-CEO Jake Soberal was placed on these modified documents to enhance their credibility.

The structure allowed Hardcastle and Adler to collect origination fees in the tens of thousands of dollars, while positioning themselves to capture significantly larger undisclosed profits tied to the actual loan terms. One loan included an interest reserve of approximately $700,000, a safeguard typically disclosed to investors to mitigate repayment risk. Authorities state that this reserve was not disclosed and was instead diverted into a separate investment controlled by the defendants, removing it from availability when the underlying borrower defaulted.

Bitwise Industries collapsed in May 2023 without repaying the loans, resulting in near-total losses for participating investors. The broader collapse of Bitwise triggered additional legal consequences across its leadership structure. Company executives Jake Soberal and Irma Olguin Jr. previously pleaded guilty to defrauding investors and lenders out of approximately $115 million and were sentenced in December 2024 to 11 years and nine years in prison, respectively.

Andrew Adler, Hardcastle’s co-conspirator in the loan scheme, pleaded guilty and was sentenced on June 2, 2025, to three years and five months in federal prison.

The second scheme detailed in the case involves Voyager Pacific Capital Management, a Florida-based real estate investment firm where Hardcastle served as general partner and chief executive officer. Between June 2020 and January 2025, investigators determined that Hardcastle and associated parties operated a fraudulent investment structure through Opportunity Fund II, which was marketed to investors as a diversified real estate acquisition vehicle.

According to court filings, investor funds were solicited under representations that capital would be used to acquire residential properties, land holdings, and tax lien assets. Authorities state that these representations were false, and that funds were instead redirected to sustain the operation through internal payments, including distributions to earlier investors, personal investments, and unauthorized expenditures.

The operational model described aligns with a Ponzi-style structure, where incoming capital was used to meet promised returns rather than being supported by actual asset performance. Participants were provided with falsified financial reports indicating stable or positive fund performance, concealing underlying losses and liquidity issues.

Investigators also identified internal transactions in which underperforming or deteriorating properties within the fund were transferred to entities controlled by Hardcastle and others. These transactions were conducted without disclosure to investors and were executed on paper without actual financial exchange. The transfers enabled artificial inflation of the fund’s reported asset value, allowing continued collection of management fees and maintaining the appearance of operational stability.

The fund ultimately underwent acquisition by a third-party entity at a discounted valuation, resulting in a significant reduction in investor equity.

Federal authorities state that Hardcastle and associated participants knowingly engaged in coordinated actions to mislead investors, with documented intent to deceive and secure financial gain through misrepresentation. Investigators determined that investors would not have participated had accurate financial disclosures been provided.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Barton and Cody Chapple are prosecuting the case.

Hardcastle is scheduled to be sentenced on September 14, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston. The conspiracy to commit wire fraud charge carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Final sentencing will be determined by the court based on statutory considerations and federal sentencing guidelines, including financial loss, duration of the schemes, and abuse of fiduciary position.

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