$24M Crypto Ponzi Scheme Leaves Investors Reeling as Owner Faces 280-Year Sentence

A Las Vegas business owner faces up to 280 years in prison for running a $24 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that defrauded at least 400 investors.

Brent Kovar, the owner of 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 after a nine-day trial.

Kovar's company purportedly used artificial intelligence software on a supercomputer to mine cryptocurrency and verify other transactions. However, it was not profitable and held no legitimate means to deliver the promised returns or 100% money-back guarantee that Kovar offered to investors.

Prosecutors stated that Kovar used investor funds to operate Profit Connect, buy gifts for employees, purchase a house for himself, and repay earlier investors while portraying these payments as proceeds from cryptocurrency activities.