The Netflix documentary “Bitconned” takes us on an exciting trip through the rough times of the late 2010s in the fast-paced world of cryptocurrency, where fortunes are made and lost in an instant. Bryan Storkel, who directed “The Pez Outlaw,” directed the documentary, which is about the rise and fall of Centra Tech, a cryptocurrency company started by ambitious people who were good at Photoshop and wanted to live a high life. The name Andrew Halayko came up in the Netflix documentary “Bitconned. Does Andrew Halayko have a connection to Centra Teach? tvacute delves into the details.
Centra Teach Scam
Sam Sharma, Robert J. Farkas, and Raymond Trapani came up with the idea for Centra Tech in July 2017. They met while working for Miami Exotics, a company that rents out expensive cars. The main goal of the company was to make cryptocurrency-based financial goods. The Centra Card was one of their most popular items. People with this bank card were supposed to be able to buy cryptocurrency at any store that took Visa or Mastercard.
Through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO), Centra Tech sought investors from July to October 2017 and raised about $25 million. The co-founders did a lot of advertising online for a team of executives that seemed qualified, including CEO Michael Edwards. The business said it had licenses to do business in 38 states and relationships with Bancorp, Visa, and Mastercard.
But the study that followed showed something very different. Michael Edwards and another alleged executive called Jessica were made-up names, and their resumes were faked to trick investors. Centra Tech didn’t work with Bancorp, Visa, or Mastercard, and a lot of the licenses it said it had were fake.
In 2018, the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI took 100,000 Ether units from Centra Tech. These were funds that came from buying digital tokens. Later, in early 2021, the US Marshals Service sold these stolen items for about $33.4 million, to repay victims of the Centra Tech fraud.
Is Andrew Halayko related to Centra Teach?
No, Andrew Halayko is not connected to Centra Tech in any way. His only link to Centra Tech is that the owners of Centra Tech used his picture without his permission as a fake CEO named Michael Edwards. Andrew Halayko is a Professor in Winnipeg, Manitoba, who studies lung biology and pathophysiology. He has nothing to do with the bitcoin market or Centra Tech’s scams. The Netflix documentary “Bitconned” shows how his name was used without his knowledge as part of a complex plan by the founders of Centra Tech.
The Netflix video shows that the founders of Centra Tech, including Ray Trapani, searched for “old white guy” on Google and found Andrew Halayko’s picture. This good professor had nothing to do with cryptocurrency, but by accident, he became the face of a scam that stole millions of dollars.
Andrew Halayko was shocked to find out that he was involved in the Centra Tech scam by accident. In a statement, he said that seeing his picture linked to a fake Bitcoin business made him feel both surprised and uneasy.
Who is Real Andrew Halayko?
The truth is that Andrew Halayko is a well-known expert in lung biology and disease. Halayko is a Professor at the University of Manitoba. He has a Ph.D. in physiology and did a study in pulmonary and critical care at the University of Chicago after earning his degree.
He has received many awards for his work in lung research, including election as a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and, in 2021, the Founder’s Award from the Canadian Lung Association for outstanding innovation and dedication to lung health.
The Centra Tech story serves as a warning in the world of cryptocurrencies, stressing the importance of careful research and doubt. People like Andrew Halayko get involved in scams without meaning to show how widespread fraud can be and how important responsibility is in the volatile world of cryptocurrencies. As buyers try to make sense of this constantly changing market, stories like Centra Tech teach them very important lessons in how to be smart and careful.
