A federal jury in Nevada has convicted Las Vegas businessman Brent Kovar of fraud and money laundering, closing the book on a $24 million crypto Ponzi scheme built through his company, Profit Connect. The Brent Kovar Profit Connect case, prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada, ended after a nine-day trial that exposed how the operation lured hundreds of everyday investors with promises of guaranteed returns and fabricated cryptocurrency mining technology.

Key takeaways

  • Brent Kovar was found guilty on 15 federal counts tied to a $24 million crypto Ponzi scheme run through Profit Connect.
  • At least 400 investors were promised fixed annual returns of 15% to 30% and a 100% money-back guarantee.
  • Prosecutors said Profit Connect had no real cryptocurrency reserves or AI-based mining operations, despite Kovar’s claims.
  • Kovar faces a statutory maximum of 280 years in prison, with sentencing set for Nov. 30, 2026.
  • The FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation and the FDIC Office of Inspector General jointly investigated the case.

Brent Kovar convicted for $24 million crypto Ponzi scheme

Kovar was found guilty on 11 counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud and two counts of money laundering, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada, which announced the verdict on Aug. 24. The trial ran for nine days before jurors reached their decision on all counts tied to the collapse of Profit Connect.

From late 2017 through July 2021, Kovar owned and marketed Profit Connect as a lucrative venture that supposedly used artificial intelligence software running on a supercomputer to mine cryptocurrency and verify transactions. Prosecutors say none of that was true, and that the company generated no legitimate income capable of covering what it promised customers.

Trial details and charges

The case had originally been laid out in a February 2025 indictment that charged Kovar with 12 wire fraud counts, three mail fraud counts and three money laundering counts, exposing him to a potential 330 years behind bars. After the trial, jurors convicted him on 15 of those counts, trimming his statutory maximum exposure to 280 years while still leaving him facing a possible life sentence in practical terms.

Investigators said Kovar promoted the scheme through a company website, a YouTube video and a PowerPoint presentation, and even leased office and warehouse space that was presented to investors as a data center. Investments were funneled through an entity called Profit Connect Wealth Services.

Sentencing timeline and penalties

Kovar is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 30, 2026, when a federal district court judge will weigh the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors before handing down a final penalty. While the 280-year statutory maximum represents the outer legal limit rather than a guaranteed outcome, it signals how seriously prosecutors are treating the scale of the fraud.

False promises and deceptive business practices by Profit Connect

Profit Connect’s pitch to investors rested on numbers that, according to prosecutors, were never grounded in reality. The company promised fixed annual returns ranging from 15% to 30%, backed by a full money-back guarantee — terms that would be extraordinary for any legitimate investment vehicle, let alone one tied to volatile digital assets.

Investment promises and fake AI cryptocurrency mining claims

Kovar told investors that Profit Connect was backed by hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency reserves, prosecutors said, even though he knew the company held no such assets. The AI-driven mining and transaction-verification story gave the scheme a technological veneer that made the guaranteed returns seem plausible to people who believed they were investing in cutting-edge crypto infrastructure.

Misuse of investor funds and false FDIC insurance claims

Rather than generating profits through mining, Kovar allegedly used incoming investor cash to keep the business running, buy gifts for employees and purchase a house for himself, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. A portion of new investor money was also routed back to earlier customers and presented as mining proceeds — the classic mechanic of a Ponzi structure, where the appearance of returns depends entirely on a constant stream of fresh capital.

Kovar also falsely claimed that investor funds were insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, according to Ryan Korner, Special Agent in Charge of the FDIC Office of Inspector General. “Mr. Kovar defrauded investors to enrich himself,” Korner said, adding that his office would keep working with other agencies to pursue financial fraud cases. That single false assurance likely calmed the nerves of investors who might otherwise have hesitated before wiring their savings into an unregulated crypto venture.

Federal investigations and wider context of crypto Ponzi prosecutions

Why does a case like this matter beyond the courtroom? Because it shows federal agencies treating crypto-branded fraud the same way they’d treat any conventional financial crime — building cases on falsified records, fake guarantees and traceable money flows rather than getting distracted by the technology label attached to the scheme.

Role of FBI, IRS, and FDIC Office of Inspector General in prosecuting Kovar

The investigation drew on three federal agencies working in tandem: IRS Criminal Investigation, the FBI and the FDIC Office of Inspector General. David Lowe, acting special agent in charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s San Francisco Field Office ha dichiarato che lo schema si basava su garanzie fittizie, rendimenti falsificati e riserve inesistenti,” language that captures how deliberately the scheme was constructed to look legitimate. Secondo il FBI Las Vegas Special Agent in Charge Christopher S. Delzotto, i danneggiati pensavano di investire in tecnologie innovative, when in fact the entire operation rested on false representations. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Sigal Chattah said the verdict reflected prosecutors’ commitment to pursuing fraud built on manipulated records and millions in investor funds. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Brister and James Gaeta prosecuted the case for the Nevada U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Comparison with other major US crypto fraud cases

Kovar’s conviction lands amid a string of similar prosecutions that show how often the same playbook resurfaces: promise outsized returns, invoke unfamiliar technology to explain away the impossibility, and quietly pay old investors with new money. The BitClub Network case, involving founder Matthew Goettsche and allegations of $722 million in investor losses, took a different turn in July when the Justice Department reportedly moved to dismiss charges — a decision tied to a 2025 policy directing prosecutors not to use criminal enforcement as a stand-in for digital-asset regulation.

Other cases have followed a more traditional path to prosecution. Goliath Ventures founder Christopher Alexander Delgado was arrested in February over an alleged $328 million scheme in which the Justice Department said the company collected more than $300 million while placing only about $1 million into actual crypto assets, with the rest going toward luxury travel, corporate events and multimillion-dollar homes. In June, federal prosecutors charged Tennessee resident Misam Abidi over an alleged $1.9 million scheme run through Star Credit Holdings, accusing him of making false statements about returns, reserves and assets under management between 2020 and 2024.

Taken together, these cases point to a pattern federal investigators keep encountering: crypto framing gives fraud a modern gloss, but the underlying mechanics — fake reserves, manufactured returns, and reliance on new money to pay old investors — remain as old as the Ponzi scheme itself. For the hundreds of people who put money into Profit Connect, the Nov. 30 sentencing hearing will mark the next milestone in a case that authorities say was built almost entirely on claims that never had any substance behind them.

FAQ

What was Brent Kovar convicted for?

Brent Kovar was convicted of fraud and money laundering related to a $24 million crypto Ponzi scheme operated via Profit Connect.

How did Profit Connect deceive investors?

Profit Connect falsely claimed to use AI-powered cryptocurrency mining and guaranteed 15% to 30% annual returns, including false FDIC insurance promises.

What will happen to Brent Kovar now?

He faces up to 280 years in prison with sentencing scheduled for November 30, 2026.

Which agencies investigated the Profit Connect case?

The FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation division, and FDIC Office of Inspector General jointly investigated the case.

Article produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by the editorial team.