Las Vegas businessman indicted for running $24M crypto-linked Ponzi scheme

A man from Las Vegas has been charged by a US regulator with stealing $24 million from over 400 investors. He did this through a scam AI-driven crypto mining plan that made false promises of 30% fixed returns and a 100% money-back guarantee.

The 58 year old Brent Kovar was charged by a grand jury with wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering related to Profit Connect. Prosecutors said that Profit Connect used artificial intelligence software on a supercomputer to mine crypto and verify crypto transactions.

Las Vegas businessman Brent Kovar faces up to 330 years in prison after being indicted for allegedly operating a $24 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme in which he claimed to use an "artificial intelligence supercomputer" to mine crypto and promised investors returns of 15%-30%. pic.twitter.com/yMfFcrsvKE

— Las Vegas Locally 🌴 (@LasVegasLocally) February 14, 2025

According to the prosecutors, the money came from about 400 agents between 2017 and 2021. They also said he rented an office and a warehouse while “misrepresenting” that the computers were working and making a lot of money by mining crypto and confirming crypto transactions.

In the lawsuit, it was also said that the defendant did not trade securities, buy crypto, or do any of the other things that Profit Connect told its investors it would do with the money.

The  documents say, “In reality, Kovar used investor money to operate Profit Connect, buy gifts for employees, buy a house for himself, and repay investors as if those repayments came from mining cryptocurrency and verifying cryptocurrency transactions.”

If Kovar is found guilty, the law says he can spend up to 330 years in jail and pay a fine of up to $4.5 million. The US legal factors will be used by a federal district court judge to decide on any punishment.

The lawsuit details

Initially, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint in federal court against Brent Kovar and his mother, Joy Kovar, in 2021. 

The complaint claimed, “Defendants promised investors that their money would be invested in securities, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies based on recommendation made by an ‘artificial intelligence supercomputer’.”

In addition, “Profit Connect claims that its supercomputer consistently generates enormous returns, which in turn allows Profit Connect to guarantee investors returns of 20% to 30% per year with monthly compound interest […] However, Profit Connect is a fraud.”

Investigators said the money was sent to Joy Kovar’s bank account in a Ponzi-like fashion. The lawsuit says that more than 90% of Profit Connect’s money came from other investors. It is said that the plan began in May 2018.

Profit Connect was accused of actively encouraging investors to use money from retirement plans and home equity. The company also went after investors who wanted to save for their family’s education. Kovar lied on his website, in a YouTube video, and in a PowerPoint presentation to get people to buy investments.

It was claimed that the payment was at least $440,000 for a house bought in January 2021 and $1.6 million spent on several credit cards. This includes a $23,500 charge made during a trip to Costco.

There are records in federal court that show a judge has ordered a number of settlements. As of Friday, there was no meeting planned in that case. According to the court records, Kovar pleaded not guilty on Thursday in the criminal case. Records show that a judge let him go on bond with terms. A trial was scheduled for April.

Chances are Kovar will be sentenced. A similar case of promoting the crypto Ponzi scheme of Antonia Perez Hernandez was ruled out last month. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was given a sentence of more than two years in jail.

This week, the Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington said that two Estonians had admitted to running a $577 million crypto Ponzi scheme. Through their schemes, the two had hurt hundreds of thousands of people around the world, including people in the United States.

Also a few months earlier an 86 year old former lawyer from California admitted to running a multimillion-dollar crypto Ponzi scheme. He was given five years of probation and told to pay almost $14 million. 

Although the US is a pro- crypto nation it doesn’t go easy on crypto criminals. In fact the FBI’s “Operation Level Up” said it saved potential crypto fraud victims roughly $285 million between January 2024 and January 2025.

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