According to a report from Japanese national newspaper The Mainichi, former chief executive officer of the now defunct Mt. Gox cryptocurrency exchange, is facing up to 10 years behind bars for embezzlement charges.

Prosecutors in a Tokyo District Court are accusing Mark Karpeles of embezzlement, for allegedly diverting “company funds to such uses as investing in a software development business for personal interest.” They also assert that Karpeles was instrumental in “totally destroying the confidence of bitcoin users.”

Court documents reveal that Karpeles embezzled over 340 million yen (equivalent to $3 million USD) worth of Mt. Gox customer’s funds. The case alleges that Karpeles transferred money rightfully owned by customers of the exchange, into his own account during Q4 2013. It’s also further revealed that Karpeles stands accused of altering the company’s trading system data to hide any trace of his wrong-doing.

Karpeles, who claims to be innocent of the charges, could spend up to ten years in prison if he is found guilty of the accusations.

It was only mere months after Karpeles is accused of embezzling his customer’s money when Mt. Gox shut down, and announced that it had lost a total of 850,000 bitcoins. The company was forced into bankruptcy – a case that has been lingering for years and only recently moved to civil rehabilitation proceedings.

Mt. Gox is often credited for causing the 2014-2015 Bitcoin bear market that saw the cryptocurrency fall 82.8% from its then all-time high of $1,168 all the way down to a low of $200.

Bitcoin is again experiencing another bear market, this time again falling 82% from its previous all-time high of $20,000 it reached last December. If Bitcoin’s price falls any lower, the current bear market will have caused even more price decline in Bitcoin than even the infamous Mt. Gox disaster.