Business owner faces up to 280 years over $24M crypto Ponzi scheme

A business owner in Las Vegas faces a statutory maximum sentence of 280 years in prison after a federal jury convicted him of running a $24 million crypto Ponzi scheme that defrauded at least 400 investors.The US Justice Department said Monday that Brent Kovar 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 owned Profit Connect from late 2017 to July 2021. The company purportedly used artificial intelligence software on a supercomputer to mine crypto and verify other crypto transactions.Kovar falsely presented the company as profitable and promised 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.Prosecutors said the company was not profitable and held no such reserves. It also had 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 is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 30. The 280-year figure represents the combined statutory maximum, while a federal judge will determine his sentence.