A federal jury in Las Vegas convicted Brent Kovar on Monday of operating a $24 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that defrauded at least 400 investors, the U.S. Justice Department said.
Kovar, who owned 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 following a nine-day trial. Prosecutors alleged that he falsely marketed the company as a high-yield investment vehicle using artificial intelligence software on a supercomputer to mine cryptocurrency and validate transactions.
According to the indictment, Kovar promised fixed annual returns of 15% to 30%, along with a 100% money-back guarantee, while claiming that Profit Connect held hundreds of millions of dollars in crypto reserves. Investigators determined that the company generated no legitimate profits and maintained no such reserves. Instead, Kovar used new investor funds to cover operating costs, purchase gifts for employees, buy a personal residence and repay earlier investors, presenting these payments as returns from crypto activities.
The 280-year maximum sentence cited by prosecutors reflects the combined statutory maximums across all charges. A federal judge will determine the actual sentence at Kovar’s Nov. 30 hearing. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada.
