Las Vegas Businessman Convicted of $24 Million Crypto Ponzi Scheme

A Las Vegas businessman, Brent Kovar, has been found guilty of defrauding over $24 million from hundreds of investors in a crypto mining operation called Profit Connect. The scheme promised returns of up to 30% APR and a 100% money-back guarantee.

Kovar presented the operation as using an artificial intelligence supercomputer for its operations, which seemed legitimate during the time Bitcoin was making its first major rally in 2017. However, it turned out that the 'profits' earlier investors made only came from the influx of newer investors, and the company wasn't making any money.

Kovar victimized 400 investors by telling them that the company had cryptocurrency reserves worth hundreds of millions of dollars, when in reality it had zero holdings. He used investor money to operate the business, buy gifts for employees, and even bought a house for himself.