David Carmona, founder of the cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme IcomTech, has been given a 10-year prison sentence following a court ruling last week. This development was revealed on October 4 by the US Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York.
Carmona must serve 121 months in prison for crypto fraud
According to the statement released, Carmona, along with other individuals, launched IcomTech in 2018, which was presented as a crypto mining and trading company that helped investors make profits by acquiring so-called crypto-related investment products.
Carmona and other IcomTech promoters sold these fake investment funds to unsuspecting victims, guaranteeing daily returns and promising to double their capital within six months. It was noted that purchases were made via cash, cheques, transfers and even cryptocurrencies.
Each investor was typically given access to an online portal where he could track his supposed profits. However, these victims always encountered problems withdrawing their profits or capital from the online platform, resulting in complaints that were reconciled with excuses, delays and hidden fees for the few successful withdrawals. With growing complaints and rising tensions, IcomTech began offering indigenous digital coins known as “Icoms” as compensation which they claimed would increase in value and could be used as a medium of exchange for goods and services.
This initiative also turned out to be false and led to the eventual collapse of the IcomTech Ponzi scheme.
Investigations by US authorities soon revealed that Carmona and other IcomTech co-conspirators had sold fake crypto investment products to unsuspecting investors, with the money diverted to lure more victims through flamboyant exposés and personal luxury spending.
In December 2022, the United States Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York announced an indictment against Carmona accusing him of conspiracy to commit wire fraud to which he pled guilty. In October 2024, Judge Jennifer L. Rochon issued a 121-month prison sentence against the crypto fraudster, followed by three years of supervised release.
Commenting on this development, Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, expressed his deep appreciation for Carmona’s prison sentence, saying:
Carmona’s days of defrauding honest people are over and he now faces a significant prison sentence.
Meanwhile, former CEO of IcomTech Marco Ruiz, Ochoa stays in prison after serving a five-year sentence in January.
Crypto Market Overview
In other news, the total cryptocurrency market cap is valued at around $2.16 trillion, after rising 1.75% over the past day. The market leader Bitcoincontinues to trade around $62,206 with a gain of 1.70% in the last 24 hours.
Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview