FRESNO, Calif. (KMJ/KFSN) — Jake Soberal and Irma Olguin Jr., the founders of Bitwise Industries, have reached a plea agreement with the Department of Justice ahead of their next court date.
Documents show that the court appearance scheduled for July 18 has been changed to a plea hearing on July 17.
Terms of the agreement have not yet been filed.
Soberal and Olguin were in the national spotlight after Fresno-based Bitwise employees received notice of immediate furlough over the Memorial Day holiday weekend in 2023. Then on June 14, 2023, they were notified of layoffs.
Approximately 900 employees were left without jobs and took legal action against Bitwise after checks started bouncing.
The mayor’s office said Bitwise violated California’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining, or WARN Act, by not giving 60-day notice that a furlough was coming.
After the furloughs were announced, a lawsuit filed by 1861 Acquisition in the New York Supreme Court began to shed light on what may have led to the sudden company-wide furloughs.
A settlement was reached on April 25 after Bitwise promised to pay back the $6 million it owed with nearly $200,000 in interest.
This is a developing story. Stay with Action News for updates.
