Sarris’s charges and Endoso’s guilty plea

analysisFederal prosecutors’ September 2, 2026 announcement identifies six charges against Sarris: two securities-fraud counts, broker-dealer fraud, wire fraud and two conspiracies. They allege misleading price and scarcity representations, markups above 200% in some cases and over $450 million attracted from more than 13,000 customers. These are accusations and scheme figures, not a conviction or judicial loss calculation. Sarris is presumed innocent; Tim Treanor said he was innocent and would contest the charges, blaming recovery uncertainty on the later bankruptcy. Endoso’s August 27 plea and cooperation concern Endoso, with no retained sentence or Sarris conviction established. ^{1 2 3}

analysisTreanor’s defense specifically disputed the causal connection between the investments and customers’ recovery uncertainty, attributing the uncertainty to a bankruptcy filed after Sarris stopped running Linqto. The retained account preserves that as the defense’s position rather than an established explanation of losses. Sarris remains presumed innocent. ²

analysisThe retained appearance notice lists maximum penalties, rather than sentences. The indictment alleges a January 2025 sale of customer-allocated securities without notice and transactions in unregistered investment-company units. Its issuer is anonymized as Company-1 and cannot be identified as Ripple from that witness alone. These are charged theories, not judgments against each issuer or customer. Sarris denies the charges through Treanor, who attributes recovery uncertainty to the later bankruptcy. The requested forfeiture is not a forfeiture judgment. Statutory maxima are not sentences: counts 1, 2 and 6 carry up to 20 years and $5 million; counts 3 and 4 up to five years and $250,000; count 5 up to 20 years and $1 million. ^{4 2 5}

analysisThe official announcement says Endoso pleaded guilty before Judge Denise Cote on August 27, 2026 to securities fraud, broker-dealer fraud and two conspiracies, and was cooperating with the government. No retained source establishes his sentence. The plea is confined to Endoso’s criminal case and does not determine other participants’ liability. ¹

analysisThe retained Endoso docket is Southern District of New York case 1:26-cr-00390. Sealed August orders concerned proceedings on an information and waiver of indictment; later unsealing or secondary reporting does not change the plea date. The information’s complete text was not retained, so docket metadata does not substitute for it. ^{2 3}

analysisThe California docket, 5:26-mj-71175, is the out-of-district arrest and transfer proceeding, separate from New York indictment 26-CR-399. It records an initial appearance September 2, a $1 million unsecured bond and waiver of Rule 5 and 5.1 hearings. On September 9 the court ordered appearance in the charging district and transferred bail. These steps do not establish guilt, subsequent detention or compliance with release conditions. ^{1 2 3}