$24 Million Crypto Ponzi Scheme Lands Las Vegas Businessman 280-Year Sentence

A Las Vegas business owner has been convicted of running a $24 million crypto Ponzi scheme that defrauded at least 400 investors. Brent Kovar, who owned Profit Connect from late 2017 to July 2021, was found guilty of 11 counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud and two counts of money laundering following a nine-day trial.

Kovar's company purportedly used artificial intelligence software on a supercomputer to mine crypto and verify other crypto transactions. However, prosecutors said the company was not profitable and held no legitimate means to deliver the promised returns or money-back guarantee. Instead, Kovar used investor money to operate Profit Connect, buy gifts for employees, purchase a house for himself, and repay earlier investors while presenting the payments as proceeds from crypto activities.

Kovar's scheme offered fixed annual returns ranging from 15% to 30%, along with a 100% money-back guarantee. He also claimed that Profit Connect held hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto reserves, which was entirely false. The US Justice Department said the combined statutory maximum sentence for Kovar is 280 years in prison.