IcomTech Ponzi Scheme Promoters Convicted in New York, Facing Two Decades in Prison
David Brend and Gustavo Rogriguez, promoters of the fraudulent crypto mining and trading facility IcomTech, were found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud by a New York jury on Friday, according to a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Launched in 2018 by David Carmona, IcomTech falsely promised investors daily returns for investing in the company’s crypto-related services, including crypto mining and trading.
According to the press release, the company did not invest victims’ funds as promised, but used them to pay off other victims “to further promote the schemes, and to enrich themselves.”
Two defendants convicted at trial for participating in cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme “IcomTech”@HSINewYork https://t.co/KL7vjJuzc1
— US Attorney SDNY (@SDNYnews) March 15, 2024
Rodriguez was hired to design IcomTech’s website while Brend and other promoters “traveled throughout the United States and abroad, where they hosted lavish expos and small community presentations aimed at luring victims to invest in the schemes.”
“IcomTech defrauded tens of thousands of people out of tens of millions of dollars,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. “It offered the false promise of easy riches based on supposed cryptocurrency investments but wound up cheating working people out of their hard-earned money.”
The fraudsters went so far as wearing luxury clothing and driving expensive cars when attending large-scale cryptocurrency events, where they “boasted about the amount of money they were earning” while encouraging “victims to invest as a means of achieving financial freedom.”
Following their investment, victims could log into an online portal where they could purportedly “monitor”
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