Andrew Katz aka Ross Katz aka Stark Katz, the co-founder of so-called digital asset infrastructure and crypto-currency trading firm Seaquake.io, who along with his partner Matthew J. Krueger of San Francisco are facing investor fraud charges, is now slated to return to New York Criminal Court July 14 to answer to one count of felony assault, one count of grand larceny and one count of aggravated harassment.
Court: New York Criminal Court
Case # CR-020482-20NY (PUBLIC RECORDS REMOVED UPON CONVICTION)
Arrest Date & Time: November 5 2020 09:30 Arrest #:M20629660
Officer Agency:NYPD
Defendant Katz, Andrew R Katz, whose bail was set at $200,000 had him posting $100,000 in cash, which sources believe to have emanated from funds that Katz and his partner Matthew J. Krueger of San Francisco hoodwinked from a Florida-based family office 18 months ago.
Defendant Katz, who continues to promote himself on LinkedIn and on the firm’s website as co-founder of the so-called digital asset infrastructure company “Seaquake.io” was arrested this past November in New York and has been granted numerous delays to answer to the latest charges. If Katz is found guilty, or if he decides to plead guilty and save the court system the aggravation of having to deal with him, he could be sentenced to a minimum of 2 years in prison.
NEWS ALERT: FEBRUARY 15 2022: ANDREW ROSS KATZ AKA ROSS KATZ CONVICTED OF ASSAULT CHARGE IN NYC; FLEES AND FOREGOES $200K BAIL BOND; FUGITIVE WARRANT FOR ARREST ISSUED IN NEW YORK; KATZ NOW BELIEVED TO BE SENDING DEATH THREATS TO WITNESSES; CONSIDERED TO BE ARMED AND DANGEROUS.
REWARD OFFERED BY NYPD
In a continuation of a bizarre story that MarketsMuse has been monitoring for more than two years, Andrew Ross Katz, the founder, and CEO of so-called digital asset/crypto trading firm Seaquake.io is now a fugitive after failing to appear for a series of court dates in New York Criminal Court and since being convicted of assault charges brought in November 2020. For reasons that would not be explained by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, the New York Criminal Court case record was expunged from the public database at the time of the February 7 conviction.
The Manhattan DA would also not comment on allegations the ADA prosecuting the case had been warned at the early stages of the criminal proceedings of Katz’s extensive criminal background in multiple states, and that the ADA had been lobbied to request the court to deny bail, as the defendant should have been considered a flight risk. Katz’s criminal arrest record extends over many years, with arrests on an assortment of charges in cities that include his hometown of Arvada, CO, Los Angeles, New York, and Miami. Katz’s most recent arrest apparently took place in late 2021 in Miami, during the same time a cryptocurrency convention was being held in that town.
Editors note: Fugitive Katz’s ‘aberrant behavior’ seems to extend back to his adolescence, according to public court filings. While in his teens, he was dispatched by his parents to a Utah-based ‘educational facility’ operated by “World Wide Association of Specialty Programs” that, according to public records, “is in the business of serving desperate parents of troubled youths and specialized in improving the students’ aberrant social behavior..” Per link above, fugitive Katz and Alyson Katz (Andrew Katz’s mother) were members of a class-action lawsuit brought against “WWSPS”. (That suit was dismissed in 2011).
According to informed sources, soon after his disappearance last week, Katz has purportedly commenced a series of death threats against a separate individual (and immediate family members), who is a victim of financial fraud that Katz and partner, Matthew J. Krueger of San Francisco committed back in 2019. That victim has since assisted law enforcement in pursuit of criminal charges against the Seaquake executives, and it is believed the [purported] death threats that came from Katz (“purportedly, yet with high probability”, according to law enforcement officers familiar with the matter), are part and parcel to a lengthy history of intimidation tactics that Katz has exacted on those in retribution for filing charges against him.
To the amazement of those interviewed and familiar with the apparent criminal activities of Katz, Krueger, and associated entities, the individuals’ profiles, and respective current Seaquake.io executive roles remain displayed and promoted on LinkedIn (e.g. Andrew Katz, Founder & CEO; Matthew Krueger, “Partner & CFO” and the company’s website continues to publish “updates” that suggest “the firm offers a range of fintech applications and services to the cryptocurrency industry”.
Most recent updates to that website promote news that funds managed by Crypto Industry Pioneer Brock Pierce‘s Percival Ventures, along with those from Blockchain Founders Fund, whose senior principal is Aly Madhavji, are investors in Seaquake. Both Pierce (now referred to as the Prince of Puerto Rico, as well as being a 2020 presidential candidate) and Madhavji are displayed as Advisors to the company on the Seaquake website. Neither of these individuals or members of their firms has responded to outreaches by MarketsMuse for them to confirm or deny the information displayed on the Seaquake.io website.
NYPD TIPS Program is Offering a Reward for information that leads to the arrest of Andrew Katz. Anyone with knowledge of Katz’s whereabouts should contact the NYPD by phoning 800-577-TIPS, or via the TIPS website
As to the charge of Aggravated Harassment, according to multiple sources, this particular charge is consistent with a behavior pattern that Katz has perpetrated repeatedly over the past several years against various people (unrelated to the current charges). No less than four individuals who have had ‘run-ins’ with Katz, including former landlords, relatives, and aggrieved investors have each independently contacted MarketMuse to share respective incidences in which Katz has tormented them with physical threats via voice message and text messages sent by ‘burner phones’, as well as defamatory messages that Katz has posted on social media platforms, all in effort to intimidate these individuals in retribution for legitimate complaints they had made against him in various jurisdictions.
As reported previously Katz and Krueger (pictured left) who also still promotes himself on LinkedIn and on the company’s website as Chief Financial Officer for Seaquake), have both been labeled “the Crypto Kleptos” and The Seaquake Slime Boys” by several people interviewed. Rumor is they are both facing a pending list of other criminal matters, including SBA PPP bank loan fraud. Public records indicate that Mssrs. Katz and Krueger applied for a PPP loan for Seaquake OPS LLC, a Wyoming entity that Seaquake corporate presentations have identified as one of several Seaquake companies. Seaquake OPS LLC did receive a Paycheck Protection Loan of $22,813 through Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, in May, 2020.
