Canopy Smells Like Entellium, which Resulted in CEO & CFO Doing Time

As Jeff Bussgang pointed out in his column today, the alleged fraud at VC-backed Canopy Financial is reminiscent of the fraud case at VC-backed Entellium last year. In that case, the former CEO and CFO were sent to prison in March for wire fraud and lying to investors (including Ignition Partners and Intel Captial) about their company’s actual revenue.

Former Entellium CEO Paul Johnston was sentenced to three years in prison and a little over $2 million in restitution, while former CFO Parrish Jones was sent away for two years and ordered to make restitution of more than $850,000.

Once they get out of prison, the pair also have to serve 80 hours of community service in a homeless shelter or soup kitchen.

Venture Capital Journal published a story last year after the Entellium case broke, questioning whether VCs could have done anything to prevent the fraud. Since it’s Friday, dear HUB readers, I’m making the story free today. Read it here.