Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have charged Taj Tarsha, the founder of NFT startup Few and Far, with securities and wire fraud. Authorities allege that he diverted more than $10 million raised from investors toward gambling, speculative cryptocurrency trades, and a Miami condominium — rather than building the decentralized NFT marketplace he had promised.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced the indictment in connection with an alleged scheme dating back to February 2022. The case is part of a broader wave of SDNY prosecutions targeting crypto and NFT founders accused of misappropriating investor funds, a trend that accelerated after the collapse of major crypto firms in 2022 prompted heightened law enforcement focus on the digital asset industry.

Token Sales and Misuse of Funds

Prosecutors say Tarsha began selling Simple Agreements for Future Tokens (SAFTs), under which buyers paid upfront for the right to receive FAR tokens once Few and Far's decentralized NFT marketplace became operational. SAFTs became a widely used fundraising vehicle during the 2021–2022 crypto boom, allowing projects to sell tokens before they existed as functional assets, though the structure has drawn increasing regulatory scrutiny over whether such sales constitute unregistered securities offerings. According to the indictment, Tarsha sold 95 million FAR tokens to at least 67 investors, raising over $10 million that was intended to fund platform development and the token itself.

Instead, prosecutors allege the funds were spent at an online casino, on risky cryptocurrency trades, and to repay a loan tied to a Miami condominium. Tarsha also allegedly used investor money to finance his DJ activities and pay for interior design work.

Tarsha paid himself close to $1 million through two bonuses that he concealed from investors and one of his co-founders, along with a salary he privately acknowledged was unreasonable given the company had no product and, in his own words, "zero revenue." He also reportedly admitted to his then-fiancée that taking company assets was "unethical."

Few and Far had raised approximately $10.5 million in a funding round led by Pantera Capital. The company was founded a year earlier by Tarsha, Chris Gale, and Chris Hayes, and was built on NEAR Protocol, a layer-1 blockchain that competed with Ethereum and Solana for NFT and decentralized application developers during the period.

Discovery and Aftermath

An internal audit conducted in June 2023 revealed that funds were missing. Tarsha allegedly reassured investors by claiming the bonuses were tied to preset FAR presale targets and that all remaining capital was still needed to complete the project. By that point, however, he had already dismissed nearly all staff and retained a single contractor to produce work that only appeared to be substantive development, according to prosecutors.

Once colleagues discovered the missing funds, Tarsha was removed from Few and Far's multi-signature wallet.

When the FAR token launched in May 2024, it collapsed. Prosecutors describe it as effectively worthless, and it ceased trading shortly after launch. Inner City Press reported that the token had fallen more than 99% from its launch price.

Legal Proceedings

Tarsha, 34, was initially arrested on June 6, 2026, and released four days later on a $500,000 personal recognizance bond. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who has presided over several high-profile financial fraud cases including the conviction of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.