Joseph Fargnoli, a former executive of the now-defunct Theia Group, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of wire fraud related to a scheme that defrauded investors and lenders out of approximately $250 million. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Fargnoli, 61, from Rochester, New York, served as Chief Technology Officer at Theia Group, an aerospace start-up based in Washington, D.C. He is the first among five former company principals charged in connection with the case to plead guilty. Other executives facing similar charges include Erlend Olson, John Gallagher, Stephen Buscher, and Jamil Swati. Olson also faces charges for allegedly evading more than $3.9 million in personal federal income taxes.
According to court documents, Theia Group had planned to launch 112 satellites beginning in 2022 with an estimated project cost between $10 billion and $15 billion. The company initially sought funding from various nation-states by offering perpetual data and analytics services for an upfront payment of $2 billion but failed to secure such funding between its founding in 2015 and receivership in 2021. Instead, Theia raised about $250 million through loans and investments obtained under false pretenses.
The alleged fraudulent activities included making false statements about revenue from government contracts that did not exist, providing fabricated financial statements such as a fake $6 billion escrow account statement, and misrepresenting the company’s technical capabilities.
“This case is being investigated by the Justice Department’s Tax Division, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Office of Inspector General, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Washington D.C. Office.”
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rebecca G. Ross and Jolie F. Zimmerman are prosecuting the matter along with Trial Attorney Alexis Hughes from the Tax Division.