Throughout a courtroom session on December 2, held within the Southern District of New York, David Brend was handed a 120-month sentence by Decide Jennifer Rochon for his fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme tied to the IcomTech platform.
Along with the decade-long imprisonment, Brend faces monetary penalties, together with $40,000 in forfeiture. He’s required to report back to jail authorities by December 16.
IcomTech, posing as a authentic cryptocurrency mining and buying and selling agency, orchestrated a scheme that defrauded 1000’s of traders of over $8 million between 2018 and 2019.
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Brend, together with different promoters, traveled throughout the nation to market the platform’s funding alternatives, promising “monetary freedom” to potential traders. As a substitute of partaking in real enterprise actions, the corporate utilized funds from new individuals to pay returns to earlier traders—a basic Ponzi scheme tactic.
The promoters diverted massive parts of the victims’ funds for private enrichment, together with luxurious purchases and actual property acquisitions. Based on the US Legal professional’s workplace, they withdrew massive sums as money and spent cash on promotional occasions to additional the misleading enterprise.
In the meantime, Gustavo Rodriguez, one other determine within the fraud and the designer of IcomTech’s web site, obtained an eight-year sentence roughly a month earlier than Brend’s sentencing.
The sentencing of IcomTech’s promoter exhibits the rising scrutiny round cryptocurrency’s darker aspect. In the meantime, Roger Ver, often called “Bitcoin Jesus,” is making headlines by difficult tax evasion allegations. How did the case unfold? Learn the total story.
Having accomplished a Grasp’s diploma in Economics, Politics, and Cultures of the East Asia area, Aaron has written scientific papers analyzing the variations between Western and Collective types of capitalism within the post-World Struggle II period.With near a decade of expertise within the FinTech business, Aaron understands the entire largest points and struggles that crypto fanatics face. He’s a passionate analyst who is anxious with data-driven and fact-based content material, in addition to that which speaks to each Web3 natives and business newcomers.Aaron is the go-to individual for every little thing and something associated to digital currencies. With an enormous ardour for blockchain & Web3 schooling, Aaron strives to rework the area as we all know it, and make it extra approachable to finish learners.Aaron has been quoted by a number of established shops, and is a printed writer himself. Even throughout his free time, he enjoys researching the market developments, and on the lookout for the following supernova.
