Profit Connect Founder Convicted on $24M 'AI Crypto' Scheme

Brent C. Kovar, the founder of Profit Connect, has been convicted by a federal jury on 15 counts of fraud and money laundering for collecting $24 million from at least 400 investors in an AI-powered crypto operation that never delivered.

Kovar's pitch promised fixed returns of 15% to 30% APR, along with a 100% money-back guarantee, but prosecutors argued the business was unprofitable and had no legitimate means of funding either the advertised returns or the guarantee.

Investor funds were allegedly used to operate Profit Connect, buy gifts for employees, purchase a house for Kovar himself, and pay investors back. The payouts were pitched as revenue from mining and transaction verification, but were actually other people's deposits.

The Justice Department dated the conduct from late 2017 through July 2021, during which time Kovar marketed Profit Connect as a profitable technology business capable of producing what he had promised.