The apology comes just one day after the pair pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Sentencing is set for Nov. 6 in U.S. District Court in Fresno.
A day after pleading guilty to felony fraud charges, the former Bitwise co-CEOs broke their public silence Thursday for the first time since the Fresno tech company’s spectacular collapse last year.
In a joint statement posted on X, Irma Olguin Jr. and Jake Soberal acknowledged wrongdoing and apologized to former employees, coworkers and investors, saying they “absolutely, unequivocally, and irreversibly chose the wrong way.”
The Bitwise CEOs’ apology acknowledges they “lied to lenders and investors” to keep the company solvent and also lied to coworkers about the company’s financial health.
“We wanted so badly to see Bitwise succeed, to see Fresno succeed and to see our teammates succeed,” the former executives said. “That gave rise to the false belief that those things were only possible if Bitwise kept going.
“We are deeply sorry.”
The Bitwise CEOs’ apology comes just one day after the pair pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Sentencing is set for Nov. 6 in U.S. District Court in Fresno.
Thursday’s apology failed to impress several former Bitwise workers contacted by Fresnoland, including some who declined to comment because they said they were too angered by the apology to talk about it.
“I guess all I’ll say for now is that I hope that putting together this apology brought them the closure they were seeking,” ex-Bitwise employee David Ramirez told Fresnoland.
In response to the plea deal and the ex-CEOs’ apology, former Bitwise employee Megan Steinert said in a text message to Fresnoland, “Restitution is not possible, and neither is justice.”
The Bitwise CEOs’ apology also acknowledged that many are unlikely to recover the money they lost when the company fell apart.
“We are sorry to have abused and broken the trust you placed in us. We are sorry for the money that you entrusted to us that you may never get back,” the duo said in the statement. “We are sorry for the unique, real, and painful stories of struggle that our wrong actions caused, most of which we may never even hear about.”
Others had mixed feelings.
“I am filled with emotion because I don’t know what to make of it. On one hand I appreciate the apology but I also feel like it’s calculated right before sentencing,” said ex-Bitwiser Jenn Guerra. “Why didn’t they admit guilt back in June and apologize then? I want to believe them but I am also skeptical unfortunately.
“I don’t hate them and the anger I feel is just hurt which I am sure many others feel,” Guerra added. “I just wish they would have said something earlier and admitted guilt earlier. It’s hard to believe people when you have been lied to.”
More than 900 workers lost their jobs when Soberal and Olguin Jr. abruptly announced across-the-board furloughs in May 2023.
Furloughs were followed by mass layoffs and a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing for the company the next month.
Fresnoland’s Rob Parsons contributed to this report.
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