Taj Tarsha charged with $10 million fraud over Few and Far NFT startup

Taj Tarsha, founder of NFT startup Few and Far, faces federal securities and wire fraud charges for an alleged $10 million scheme. Prosecutors claim he misappropriated investor funds intended for an NFT marketplace, spending them on a Miami condo, gambling, and a DJ hobby. The project's FAR token collapsed by over 99%. Tarsha's lawyers contend it was a business failure, not a crime, amid a broader crackdown on NFT fraud.

Securities fraud charges

• ▪Taj Tarsha, 34, was arrested on June 6, 2026, and released four days later on a $500,000 personal recognizance bond
• ▪Each charge against Taj Tarsha carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison
• ▪Taj Tarsha, founder of NFT startup Few and Far, was indicted by federal prosecutors in Manhattan for securities and wire fraud

Investor fund misappropriation

• ▪According to the indictment, Taj Tarsha described the NFT market as a "bubble" and his startup as a "magic ticket to a 10-30M exit."
• ▪Tarsha also allegedly awarded himself a $360,000 annual salary and took nearly $1 million in bonuses hidden from investors and a co-founder
• ▪Investor funds were allegedly misappropriated for online gambling, speculative crypto trades, a Miami condominium, and funding a DJ hobby
• ▪Prosecutors allege Taj Tarsha raised over $10 million from at least 67 investors by selling rights to 95 million future FAR tokens

Defense claims business failure

• ▪The defense argued that sophisticated investors in 2022 understood the risks and that prosecutors are using "regulation by enforcement."
• ▪Taj Tarsha's attorneys stated he never intended to defraud anyone, framing the case as a "failed business venture" being rewritten as criminal fraud

Few and Far marketplace

• ▪After an internal audit in June 2023 revealed missing funds, Taj Tarsha was removed from the company's multi-signature wallet by his colleagues
• ▪The project's FAR token launched in May 2024 and subsequently lost over 99% of its value, becoming effectively worthless
• ▪Few and Far was marketed as a decentralized NFT marketplace to be built on the NEAR Protocol, but it never produced a functional product

NFT fraud prosecutions

• ▪The indictment is part of a series of federal prosecutions targeting NFT fraud following the collapse of the NFT market
• ▪By the end of 2022, NFT trading volumes had fallen roughly 95% from their peak earlier in the year