StraightPath Founders Get Prison for $386 Million Pre-IPO Fraud

The founders of StraightPath Venture Partners LLC were sentenced to years in prison for defrauding investors who gave them $386 million to supposedly invest cheaply in hot companies about to go public.

Michael Castillero, Francine Lanaia and Brian Martinsen were convicted last year of grossly inflating the value of the shares they acquired in private firms and charging investors other hidden fees, ultimately skimming $75 million for themselves.

Castillero, 48, was sentenced Wednesday to 11 years in prison. Martinsen, 49, and Lanaia, 61, were respectively given 10 years and eight years behind bars. Manhattan US Attorney Jay Clayton announced the ...