Justin Ryan Schmidt, founder of crypto investment fund Translunar Crypto LP, has been sentenced by a U.S. court to 37 months in prison in a tax evasion case. The U.S. Department of Justice said Schmidt, 46, pleaded guilty earlier this year in federal court in Austin, Texas. Prosecutors said he underreported his income from 2020 to 2022, declaring less than $5,000 in income, while actually earning more than $7 million through fund-related business between 2019 and 2022. Schmidt founded Translunar in 2017 to invest in blockchain startups, with capital mainly coming from investors in Austin, Texas, and Aspen, Colorado. The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation division arrested him on Feb. 23, 2026, and he has remained in custody since then.
Justin Ryan Schmidt, the founder of crypto investment fund Translunar Crypto LP, has been sentenced by a U.S. court to 37 months in prison in a tax evasion case.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Schmidt, 46, pleaded guilty earlier this year in federal court in Austin, Texas. He was accused of underreporting his income from 2020 to 2022, declaring less than $5,000 in income. Prosecutors said he actually earned more than $7 million through fund-related business from 2019 to 2022.
Schmidt founded Translunar in 2017. The fund mainly invested in blockchain startups, with capital primarily coming from investors in Austin, Texas, and Aspen, Colorado. The Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation division arrested him on Feb. 23, 2026, and he has remained in custody since then.
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