Overview

• Senior U.S. District Judge William Alsup on Aug. 29 sentenced ex‑CEO Daniel Schatt to 52 months and ex‑CFO Joseph Podulka to 36 months in federal prison.
• Each defendant also received three years of supervised release and a $25,000 fine, with a restitution hearing set for Oct. 7 and surrender to begin serving on Oct. 28.
• Schatt and Podulka pleaded guilty on May 13 to a wire fraud conspiracy for presenting an unreasonably positive picture of Cred while concealing material risks.
• Cred’s November 2020 bankruptcy drew more than 6,000 customer and investor claims exceeding $140 million, which prosecutors now value at over $1 billion using August 2025 prices.
• Prosecutors said Cred relied on an affiliated Chinese firm for yield and a separate hedging partner that unraveled after the March 2020 Bitcoin crash, as Schatt told customers the business was operating normally.