Las Vegas Businessman Convicted in $24 Million Crypto Ponzi Scheme

Brent Kovar, a Las Vegas businessman, was convicted of fraud and money laundering in connection with a $24 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme. Profit Connect, his company, collected funds from at least 400 investors who were promised annual returns of between 15% and 30%. However, prosecutors said that investor money was used to fund the business, personal purchases, and repayments to earlier investors.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Nevada stated that Kovar was found guilty after a nine-day trial on 11 counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud, and two counts of money laundering. He faces a statutory maximum penalty of 280 years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on November 30.

Prosecutors claimed that Profit Connect was not profitable and had no legitimate source of income capable of supporting its promised returns or guarantee. Instead, investor funds were used to keep the business operating, purchase gifts for employees, and buy a house for Kovar himself. Part of the money was also sent back to existing investors while being presented as proceeds generated through cryptocurrency mining and transaction verification.