FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - Once seen as two people revolutionizing tech in the Central Valley, Jake Soberal and Irma Olguin Jr. are now set to spend years in federal prison after pleading guilty to a wire fraud scheme and the theft of $115 million.  Bitwise Furloughs: YourCentralValley.com's complete coverage A federal judge has now sentenced Olguin to nine years in prison, and Soberal to 11 years. Soberal's heavier sentence was due to his past as an attorney, with the judge saying he should have known better.  Many former employees, like Jenn Guerra, were in the courtroom on Tuesday, watching their formal bosses learn their fate.  "I really, you know, trusted them, yeah what they were telling us," Guerra said.  Guerra said while at Bitwise, she believed in not just the company, but in the CEOs and their mission.  The company marketed itself as a leader in revolutionizing tech in cities like Fresno that weren't typically tech-heavy, with a special focus on teaching underserved people how to code and revitalizing real estate.  But that all changed in May of 2023, when Guerra said her paychecks started bouncing and she and her coworkers were placed on furlough without warning. Eventually, they were all terminated.  "I went into, I got into debt, unfortunately," she said. It was then when Guerra and 900 other employees learned Bitwise was out of money. Federal prosecutors said Soberal and Olguin knowingly lied to investors about how much money the company had, and that the two had said they had tens of millions of dollars in the bank, to get more funding. Attorneys working the case said the two would use the money from investors on themselves and loved ones, all while the company was going broke, not paying taxes and soon being unable to make payroll.  Guerra was in the courtroom when the sentences were handed down.  "At least they did publicly acknowledge what they did. And even in the courtroom, they did, you know, both of them spoke. And Irma cried. And it was pretty emotional like, you know. So, I mean, there's some people that never admit to their crimes, you know, and that's horrible in itself. But they actually admitted to it. So there's something there." Fresno City Councilmember Mike Karbassi showed no mercy for Soberal and Olguin.   "I think it says the system does work, that you can't perpetuate a Ponzi scheme from the very start and shroud it in wokeness and think you're going to get away with it. They got exactly what they deserved," Karbassi said.  He added he hopes seeing this kind of fraud coming to light, doesn't sway away investors looking to fund legitimate valley businesses.  "I think a lot of them are going to just be very careful about crossing the Ts and dotting the Is and making sure that if they're investing in a group or a company, it produces something tangible, whether it's a product or service," he said. Mayor Jerry Dyer briefly commented on the matter during a separate city press conference Tuesday.  "Just hopefully we can turn a page, put this behind us, and other people can learn from it," he said.  Both Soberal and Olguin have 90 days to turn themselves in as they are not currently in custody.