US charges two former Linqto CEOs over $450 million 'pre-IPO' fraud scheme, one pleads guilty
Two former CEOs of Linqto, William Sarris and Joseph Endoso, face criminal fraud charges following an alleged $450 million scheme designed to defraud investors. Sarris, 75, founded the now-bankrupt Silicon Valley online investment platform in 2020 and served as CEO for 14 years before pleading guilty to securities fraud, broker-dealer fraud, and conspiracy charges.
Endoso, 66, who succeeded Sarris as CEO, also pleaded guilty to similar charges and is currently cooperating with prosecutors. The alleged scheme targeted pre-IPO private companies, exploiting investors' difficulty in valuing these companies by creating false scarcity and charging markups that inflated prices. Prosecutors claim Sarris manipulated an algorithm to falsely set market prices, often by imposing double-digit percentage markups, sometimes exceeding 200%.
Despite Linqto filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2025, Sarris maintains his innocence and plans to contest the charges.
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