Jake Soberal and Irma Olguin Jr., founders of the failed Bitwise Industries, have reached a plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice involving charges they lied to investors to collect $115 million in investments and loans, according to court documents.

Lawyers representing Soberal and Olguin filed a motion Tuesday in federal court seeking to set aside the upcoming preliminary hearing and instead set a date for a change of plea.

“The parties have reached plea agreements to resolve the case and will file the agreements with the Court shortly,” the court document states.

As of Wednesday morning, the plea agreement were not yet filed in the court’s system.

The high-profile Fresno company that once championed itself as a hub for technology education and innovation collapsed on May 29, 2023, after going broke. About 900 people lost their jobs.

Federal prosecutors charged Soberal and Olguin with “altering and fabricating financial information” for the purpose of deceiving and cheating investors and lenders into making investments and loans to the company, according to recently filed court documents.

“As a result of Soberal and Olguin’s false and fraudulent representations, Bitwise received approximately $115 million in investments and loans between January 2022 and May 2023. This included $18 million from a New York-based financial institution on or about September 1, 2022,” court records show.

Soberal and Olguin are each charged with one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud and wire fraud. They have pleaded not guilty.

The pair are scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court on July 17 to change their plea to guilty. A sentencing hearing will be held about 10 weeks later.

Although Soberal and Olguin face up to 20 years in prison for their crimes, legal expert Tony Capozzi speculates that is unlikely.

Capozzi, a veteran Fresno defense attorney with extensive experience in federal court, estimates they could receive about 5 years in prison based on their lack of criminal history, their cooperation with investigators and willingness to accept responsibility.

“I just don’t think their sentence is going to be that severe,” said Capozzi, who is not connected to the case.

Also potentially benefiting the defendants is if they implicate anyone else in their fraud scheme. Soberal and Olguin have said in previous court documents that they were the only ones responsible for the deception.

“If a defendant can implicate someone else in the fraud or conspiracy, than they may do it if it means they could have their time reduced,” Capozzi said

Jenn Guerra, an ex-Bitwise employee, plans to be at the change of plea hearing on July 17.

“If it is proven that they falsified documents and lied to us, then they should be held accountable like anyone else,” she said. “They are not above the law.”