David Brend, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his involvement in the cryptocurrency mining and trading company IcomTechwas sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The sentencing took place in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, with Judge Jennifer Rochon ordering Brend to serve 120 months at the federal prison camp in Pensacola, Florida. Brend must also pay $40,000 in forfeiture and must surrender to prison authorities by Dec. 16.

The court accused the operation of defrauded tens of thousands of people of individuals out of millions of dollars, by exploiting the savings of workers.

Brend’s conviction follows a similar ruling in November, when fellow IcomTech promoter Gustavo Rodriguez was sentenced to eight years in prison. The court noted that the harsh penalties were intended to deter cryptocurrency fraud.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “David Brend and Gustavo Rodriguez were at the heart of IcomTech’s Ponzi scheme – Rodriguez as chief architect of its fake website, Brend as face-to-face salesman who peddled the fake company and its alleged lucrative returns for investors. » Together, they defrauded thousands of people out of millions of dollars.

IcomTech, which operated from 2018 to 2019, was a crypto-based Ponzi scheme that took more than $8 million from users. The company’s promoters, including Brend, traveled across the country encouraging people to invest in IcomTech’s products with promises of “financial freedom.” The project was built around lavish exhibitions and luxury products, enticing victims to invest their money.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office revealed that Brend and other promoters siphoned large sums of money from victims, using the money for personal expenses such as luxury goods and real estate, as well as expenses promotional.

Authorities arrested IcomTech founder David Carmona in 2022. Carmona was sentenced to 10 years in prison in October. Marco Ochoa, the company’s CEO, was sentenced to five years in prison in January. Brend and Rodriguez had pleaded not guilty, but in March a jury found them both guilty of one count of wire fraud conspiracy.

Prosecutors revealed that IcomTech did not engage in any trading or mining activities. Instead, it operated as a Ponzi scheme, using funds from new investors to pay off previous investors. Rodriguez contributed to the scam by advising on pricing of “investment packages” and fabricating daily returns available to investors through the website and a portal he operated.