Jury Convicts Las Vegas Man of $24M AI Crypto Mining Ponzi Scheme
A federal jury in Las Vegas convicted Brent C. Kovar, owner of Profit Connect, for running a $24 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme that defrauded at least 400 investors. From late 2017 through July 2021, the company falsely claimed it used AI software and a supercomputer to mine crypto and validate transactions, promising 15% to 30% annual returns plus a full money-back guarantee. Prosecutors said Profit Connect had no meaningful reserves, was never profitable, and could not pay the advertised returns. Investor money was used to fund the business, pay employee gifts, buy Kovar a house, and send fake “returns” to earlier investors. Kovar was convicted on 11 wire fraud counts, two mail fraud counts, and two money laundering counts. He faces sentencing on November 30 and a possible statutory maximum of 280 years. The SEC shut down Profit Connect in 2021, saying most of its revenue came from investors and none was used to trade crypto. Kovar had also faced a prior SEC case in 2009 over another fraud scheme.
