CINCINNATI — A Cincinnati man has pleaded guilty to federal wire fraud charges after he allegedly defrauded investors out of millions of dollars.

The Southern District of Ohio Attorney's Office says in 2019, Benjamin Cantey started a business, Carbon IQ, which did business under the name Rumby. Cantey claimed Rumby was a venture-backed startup providing an e-commerce platform for the pickup and delivery of laundry and dry cleaning, according to the release.

From 2020 through 2022, Cantey took money from investors while lying to them about his business experience and prior business success, the release says.

Court documents say Cantey went as far as creating and sending fake "pitch decks" with false information to send to investors, encouraging them to invest money in Rumby. Those decks

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