Despite the existence of a government that is pro-crypto, the United States authorities are not being lenient toward fraudsters. David Brend, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for promoting crypto mining and trading firm IcomTech, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
In a hearing held on December 2 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge Jennifer Rochon sentenced Brend to 10 years imprisonment at the Federal Prison Camp in Pensacola, Florida.
It is anticipated that he will surrender to prison authorities on December 16 and pay the forfeiture amount of $40,000.
Brend’s sentencing occurred approximately one month after Judge Rochon sentenced his colleague IcomTech promoter, Gustavo Rodriguez, to eight years in prison. The judge indicated that the severe sentence was intended to discourage “crypto frauds.”
IcomTech ponzi scheme case
Following a two-week trial in March of this year, the Honorable Jennifer L. Rochon sentenced Brend and Rodriguez, who were both convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that David Brend was one of the perpetrators in the large-scale crypto Ponzi scheme known as IcomTech.
In a Dec. 3 statement, Damian Williams stated, “David Brend and Gustavo Rodriguez were central to the IcomTech Ponzi scheme — Rodriguez as the chief architect of its sham website, Brend as a face-to-face salesman who peddled the bogus enterprise and its supposed lucrative returns for investors.”
Brend, along with others, defrauded thousands of individuals out of millions of dollars. According to the US Attorney’s office, he was one of the IcomTech promoters who traveled across the country to encourage individuals to use the platform’s investment products for “financial freedom. ”
The indictment contended that IcomTech operated as a crypto-based Ponzi scheme, swindling over $8 million from users between 2018 and 2019.
Rodriguez, 48, of North Hollywood, California, was also sentenced to prison and ordered to pay forfeiture of $40,000, which represents his direct proceeds from the offense.
Additionally, Judge Rochon ordered the 50-year-old Brend of Tampa, Florida, to pay forfeiture and restitution in amounts that will be determined at future hearings.
How Brend and his accomplices were involved in the IcomTech Ponzi scheme
In mid-2018, IcomTech was founded when co-defendant David Carmona contracted Rodriguez to develop a website for the scheme. IcomTech was a purported crypto mining and trading corporation that promised to generate profits for its victim investors in exchange for their acquisition of purported crypto-related investment products.
Among other things, Carmona, Brend, and the other promoters of IcomTech made fraudulent promises to their respective Victims, including that profits from the companies’ crypto trading and mining would result in guaranteed daily returns on Victims’ investments.
In reality, IcomTech did not engage in crypto trading or mining for its Investors. Brend and IcomTech’s other promoters used victim funds to pay other victims, further promote the schemes, and enrich themselves.
As early as August 2018, victims who attempted to withdraw money from their online portal accounts encountered difficulties. When they complained to promoters, they were met with excuses, delays, and concealed fees if they were able to make any withdrawals at all.
In an effort to infuse liquidity into IcomTech, as complaints escalated, IcomTech initiated the sale of proprietary crypto-tokens. Promoters of the schemes asserted that these tokens, which are referred to as “Icoms,” would ultimately be worth a substantial sum of money when companies accepted them as payment for products and services.
In reality, “Icoms” were essentially meaningless and caused additional financial hardship for the victims. By or around the conclusion of 2019, IcomTech ceased to provide payments to victims, and the company ultimately collapsed.
David Carmona, the founder of IcomTech and the alleged “mastermind” of the organization, was apprehended by authorities in 2022. In October, a judge sentenced him to ten years in prison. The company’s CEO, Marco Ochoa, was sentenced to five years in prison in January.
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