IcomTech Promoter Sentenced To Decade In Federal Prison

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Julia Smith

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Julia Smith

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Julia is an experienced editor with a passion for covering a wide variety of beats. She loves all things politics and regularly covers regulatory updates on emerging technology here for Crypto News.

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December 4, 2024

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IcomTech promoter David Brend has been sentenced to a decade behind bars for the cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme following his conviction on conspiracy to commit wire fraud in March.

IcomTech Promoter David Brend Sentenced

According to the Monday press release, Brend worked under co-defendant David Carmona and alongside Gustavo Rodriguez in operating IcomTech, a cryptocurrency mining and trading platform launched in early 2018 that promised “guaranteed daily returns” on investor funds.

However, U.S. prosecutors claim no actual digital asset trading or mining occurred for the exchange’s customers, with fellow promoters using “victim funds to pay other Victims, to further promote the schemes, and to enrich themselves.”

The U.S. government alleges that Rodriguez largely designed IcomTech’s digital interface. At the same time, Brend served as a “face-to-face salesman who peddled the bogus enterprise and its supposed lucrative returns for investors.”

IcomTech promoters further enacted the massive crypto scheme by attending lavish expos in luxury cars and wearing expensive clothing, giving the illusion that the sham digital asset company could offer investors financial freedom.

However, this facade began to crumble by August 2018 as investors struggled to withdraw their funds from the platform.

“As complaints mounted, IcomTech began offering proprietary crypto-tokens for sale as a means of injecting liquidity into IcomTech,” the press release states. “Promoters of the schemes claimed that these tokens…would eventually be worth a significant amount of money…”

In reality, the tokens had zero real value and led to further financial harm to the schemes’ victims, who stopped receiving funds entirely by the end of 2019.

Crypto Ponzi Scheme Criminals Face The Music

Rodriguez was sentenced to eight years in federal prison in Manhattan federal court on October 31 of this year for helping to orchestrate the digital asset scheme. He has also been ordered to pay $40,000 in restitution for his crimes.

Meanwhile, Brend has additionally been ordered to pay for his crimes, with his forfeiture to be determined by a USDNY judge later.

“Together with others, Brend and Rodriguez defrauded thousands of people out of millions of dollars,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams stated. Both were found guilty by a unanimous jury. Now they will serve substantial prison sentences for their crimes.”