Two central figures behind the cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme often called IcomTech have been sentenced to substantial jail phrases, in response to a current press launch by the US DoJ.
The scheme defrauded hundreds of traders out of hundreds of thousands of {dollars}, leaving monetary devastation in its wake. The sentencing marks a significant authorized conclusion to one of many extra distinguished circumstances of cryptocurrency fraud.
Particulars of the IcomTech Scheme
David Brend and Gustavo Rodriguez, key operators of IcomTech, obtained jail sentences of 10 and eight years, respectively, handed down by Choose Jennifer L. Rochon following a March trial the place each had been convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Prosecutors revealed that IcomTech, launched in mid-2018, masqueraded as a cryptocurrency mining and buying and selling agency, promising excessive every day returns to draw investments. Nevertheless, in actuality, the corporate didn’t interact in any authentic buying and selling or mining actions.
As a substitute, funds collected from traders had been used to pay earlier traders in a “basic Ponzi scheme” vogue. Promoters like Brend flaunted luxurious existence, together with costly automobiles and designer clothes, to lure victims.
Buyers had been offered entry to an internet portal to observe alleged income, however most had been unable to withdraw their cash, finally dropping their whole investments.
The US DoJ additionally reveals that Brend and Rodriguez’s scheme didn’t finish there. When complaints heightened amongst the traders, they restrategized and “started providing proprietary crypto-tokens on the market as a way of injecting liquidity into IcomTech.”
Nevertheless, the token dubbed “Icoms”, was additionally nothing apart from a sham. The US DoJ wrote within the press launch:
Promoters of the schemes claimed that these tokens, often called “Icoms”, would ultimately be value a big amount of cash once they had been accepted by corporations for fee for items and companies. This was false. In actuality, “Icoms” had been primarily nugatory and resulted in additional monetary loss to Victims. By in or in regards to the finish of 2019, IcomTech stopped making funds to Victims and IcomTech collapsed.
Authorized and Monetary Repercussions
Gustavo Rodriguez, who managed IcomTech’s web site and crafted compensation plans, was ordered to pay $40,000 in forfeiture, representing his direct proceeds from the scheme, with restitution quantities to be decided.
David Brend, a promoter of the scheme, additionally faces pending restitution and forfeiture determinations. U.S. Legal professional Damian Williams famous:
David Brend and Gustavo Rodriguez had been central to the IcomTech Ponzi scheme – Rodriguez because the chief architect of its sham web site, Brend as a face-to-face salesman who peddled the bogus enterprise and its supposed profitable returns for traders. Along with others, Brend and Rodriguez defrauded hundreds of individuals out of hundreds of thousands of {dollars}. Each had been discovered responsible by a unanimous jury. Now they are going to serve substantial jail sentences for his or her crimes.
Assistant U.S. Legal professional Damian Williams, representing the Southern District of New York, recommended the investigation led by Homeland Safety’s El Dorado Process Pressure, alongside contributions from the SEC and CFTC.
Williams highlighted the gravity of the defendants’ actions, noting that they exploited their positions to complement themselves on the expense of hundreds of victims.
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