Nevada man faces 280 years after alleged $24 million crypto Ponzi scheme

[Hamza2424]

A few years ago, there was a popular ponzi scheme in my country that rocked a lot of people. Even though it eventually collapsed, I think a lot of the participants knew it was a ponzi scheme but their greed convinced that if they leave early enough, they might win. I believe that as long as life exists, there would always be people greedy enough to try out ponzi schemes even though they have been hurt before by such schemes. There's many of such cases which is why the one in OP doesn't surprise me at all.

Bro, there have been dozens of Ponzi schemes in my country as well that scammed people out of millions of dollars and fled, while the authorities failed to understand two things. One, where did all that money come from, which people don't even file, and they failed to seize the funds because those projects took everything out.

They first ran these Ponzi schemes for at least 5 months, and once the early adopters and earners started making videos to get more referrals, the project started to increase the rewards so more fishes could be trapped.

That's a big sign of a project turning out to be a Ponzi scheme. When you see them growing in number, they will increase their offers. The bigger the offer, the more confirmed it becomes that they are running a Ponzi scheme. So bro, I have experienced this a few times, that's why I never invest, especially in times when they offer high rewards.

[tread93]

When ever I come across news like this, I always wonder how some people get convinced by others to give out their own money just because they are being offered a high annual return. With how common ponzi schemes have been, how do people still fall victim to this type of Ponzi scam?

Prosecutors in Nevada say Las Vegas resident Brent Kovar operated a supposed crypto business as a $24 million Ponzi scheme.
a $24 million Ponzi scheme.

Kovar persuaded roughly 400 people to invest in a company he claimed was worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the business "purportedly used artificial intelligence software on a supercomputer to mine cryptocurrency and verify other cryptocurrency transactions."

Prosecutors said Kovar promised fixed annual returns of 15% to 30%, along with a 100% money-back guarantee.

Authorities alleged those payouts came from newer investors rather than legitimate profits.

source
He was sentenced 280 years in prison which is almost equal to death setence if we are to add his current age.

Yeah I honestly can’t believe it either Chi, but people are dumb! They will hand over thousands of dollars to over a complete strangers who are good at sales and convincing individuals out of pure desperation to make money and its just insane bro. What are you gonna do though. Hopefully these folks will wise up and find a good financial advisor and learn how to invest money on their own as well so they don’t get scammed

[Myleschetty]

How did some people fall for common Ponzi scheme?
From my understanding there are two reasons.
1 Many people worldwide are trying to find a way to leverage their fiat currency because it will eventually lose purchasing power if it is kept in banks.
They become victims of this Ponzi scheme because they don't understand the scammers model of scamming and looking for ways to leverage their money.

2 People who are blinded by greed are the second reason. They are already aware that anything that seems too good to be true is a fraud.

Even if someone is looking for how to leverage their money, a Ponzi scheme should not be an option for them, especially when they have fallen victim to a Ponzi scheme. They should not continuously be falling victim to a Ponzi scheme; there are better ways to invest money. If not for that, and the fast need to make quick money has blinded most of them, it would really be easy for someone not to fall victim to a Ponzi scheme.

You're correct. I want you to know that no one on the planet will choose to invest in something that will ultimately lead to their demise.
Even though we are aware of how a Ponzi scheme operates, some people are unaware of it. For instance, even though many people are aware of the ColdCard wallet hack, some people are still ignorant of it; the same thing goes for knowing the true information regarding Ponzi schemes model of operation. Additionally, we also have made some mistakes when we don't understand Bitcoin.

[L E G E N D A R Y]

You're correct. I want you to know that no one on the planet will choose to invest in something that will ultimately lead to their demise.
Even though we are aware of how a Ponzi scheme operates, some people are unaware of it. For instance, even though many people are aware of the ColdCard wallet hack, some people are still ignorant of it; the same thing goes for knowing the true information regarding Ponzi schemes model of operation. Additionally, we also have made some mistakes when we don't understand Bitcoin.

The tricky part about this is that, a lot of folks only end up recognizing a scam only after understanding how it really works, and when people become too ignorant or greedy, they see almost anything as legit. And that’s why it’s usually more effective when you take time to educate people, rather than simply just telling or warning them to be careful. And concerning bitcoin, in order to truly prevent certain mistakes or irrational decisions that can cause serious losses, one needs to take time to educate themselves and understand the risks behind self custody, investment decisions and security as these are the cores of Bitcoin.

[SquirrelJulietGarden]

The tricky part about this is that, a lot of folks only end up recognizing a scam only after understanding how it really works, and when people become too ignorant or greedy, they see almost anything as legit. And that’s why it’s usually more effective when you take time to educate people, rather than simply just telling or warning them to be careful. And concerning bitcoin, in order to truly prevent certain mistakes or irrational decisions that can cause serious losses, one needs to take time to educate themselves and understand the risks behind self custody, investment decisions and security as these are the cores of Bitcoin.

Most people only learn about scams after they lost money to scammers. Before such incident and money loss, they possibly were exposed to resources teaching about scams but they simply ignored these helpful and important resources. They are careless from practice, lazy and don't want to learn new things even they are very vital knowledge which is meaningful to protect their money safely from scammers.

Like this sticky thread [General] Crypto scams, attacks and malware.
How many people spent time to read that even they join the forum as forum newbies, and actually don't have knowledge about Bitcoin, cryptocurrency and most common scams.

[L E G E N D A R Y]

Like this sticky thread [General] Crypto scams, attacks and malware.
How many people spent time to read that even they join the forum as forum newbies, and actually don't have knowledge about Bitcoin, cryptocurrency and most common scams.

Well maybe that’s because they feel that they already know it all, I mean about scams and their techniques. This is mostly common with old users who have been around the space and maybe have learned a few things about scam from threads and people around here, and so they feel there’s no more need to learn further, besides they’ll be able to detect a scammer when they bump into one.

But they fail to realize that scammers and scams are ever evolving, and every now and then, they are upgrading and updating their schemes just to make sure they remain convincing to people. And if it is someone that’s not updated on the latest schemes, they’ll just gracefully land themselves into the hands of scammers without even realizing it.

[Faisal2202]

That's literally what the world has turned into right now. No matter how good we think a system is, there's always a loophole somewhere, and because it's a case that has to do with money or life and death, the judgment will not be completely fair, as more than half of the judges are also corrupt.

I won't jump to conclusions like this. That's why I said I am not a lawyer and I don't know much about the law there, but I have seen many cases and different judges have different decisions. You just have to represent your case in the best way possible. Also, there are privileges as well. I will wait for someone to shed more light deeply, someone who knows the law very well. Although I can take help from the internet or AI.

I am sure, there must be a solid reason for this.

[Mr Reporter]

Even if someone is looking for how to leverage their money, a Ponzi scheme should not be an option for them, especially when they have fallen victim to a Ponzi scheme. They should not continuously be falling victim to a Ponzi scheme; there are better ways to invest money. If not for that, and the fast need to make quick money has blinded most of them, it would really be easy for someone not to fall victim to a Ponzi scheme.

One of the painful facts about what you made mentioned “ about people who have already been scammed once still go back to it again” and the big questions of the day is whether they are dumb? You see the faster way to make this quick money has caused alot of people their lives, property, and all…and the desperation has really played a big role and has led so many people to scam and many are still believing in these Ponzi promises…but this is promised and the math will never change, If it pays old people with new people’s money it will later collapse with time…

[Tetu100]

You're correct. I want you to know that no one on the planet will choose to invest in something that will ultimately lead to their demise.
Even though we are aware of how a Ponzi scheme operates, some people are unaware of it. For instance, even though many people are aware of the ColdCard wallet hack, some people are still ignorant of it; the same thing goes for knowing the true information regarding Ponzi schemes model of operation. Additionally, we also have made some mistakes when we don't understand Bitcoin.

The thing is that some mistakes doesn't seems to be a mistake to me because many dudes are mostly droven by greed. When the offer looks too good they become tempted to give it a trial and as a result becomes a victim. However, even if some dudes are ignorant of some certain methods of which scammers used in scamming people, common sense may look very common but it is  important because it helps us understand some simple signs or mode of their scamming operations and a quick way of avoiding them.

[JoyMarsha]

With how common ponzi schemes have been, how do people still fall victim to this type of Ponzi scam?

It makes me wonder, until I find out that the majority of people who have on earth are looking for quick ways for them to make a living. They are not ready to wait and be patient for long before they can be rich. They want their journey to riches to be easy and fast, and they are already willing to spend and risk it all for that.

These scammers knows that the humans have greediness in them, promising them a quick return of investment can have them falling for their ponzi scheme

[Obari]

When ever I come across news like this, I always wonder how some people get convinced by others to give out their own money just because they are being offered a high annual return. With how common ponzi schemes have been, how do people still fall victim to this type of Ponzi scam?

Prosecutors in Nevada say Las Vegas resident Brent Kovar operated a supposed crypto business as a $24 million Ponzi scheme.
a $24 million Ponzi scheme.

Kovar persuaded roughly 400 people to invest in a company he claimed was worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the business "purportedly used artificial intelligence software on a supercomputer to mine cryptocurrency and verify other cryptocurrency transactions."

Prosecutors said Kovar promised fixed annual returns of 15% to 30%, along with a 100% money-back guarantee.

Authorities alleged those payouts came from newer investors rather than legitimate profits.

source
He was sentenced 280 years in prison which is almost equal to death setence if we are to add his current age.

I know this is a serious issue but there are sentences that seem very funny to me because how on earth will an attorney give someone a 280 years imprisonment rather than simply saying it's a life imprisonment?

No matter popular Ponzi scheme have become, there are people that will definitely fall for newer ones when they are launched and that's how gullible humans can be and I wouldn't use to blame them totally because people always want to make extra money at cost and when opportunities like this present themselves, people always want to take advantage of it and also don't forget that, most of these Ponzi schemes comes with legitimacy that seems almost authentic and almost impossible to turn down the offers that comes with it.

I don't know why, I fell the persecuted would and might be relaxed along the line because I don't see the sentence as something serious.

[uchegod-21]

When ever I come across news like this, I always wonder how some people get convinced by others to give out their own money just because they are being offered a high annual return. With how common ponzi schemes have been, how do people still fall victim to this type of Ponzi scam?

Prosecutors in Nevada say Las Vegas resident Brent Kovar operated a supposed crypto business as a $24 million Ponzi scheme.
a $24 million Ponzi scheme.

Kovar persuaded roughly 400 people to invest in a company he claimed was worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the business "purportedly used artificial intelligence software on a supercomputer to mine cryptocurrency and verify other cryptocurrency transactions."

Prosecutors said Kovar promised fixed annual returns of 15% to 30%, along with a 100% money-back guarantee.

Authorities alleged those payouts came from newer investors rather than legitimate profits.

source
He was sentenced 280 years in prison which is almost equal to death setence if we are to add his current age.

I know this is a serious issue but there are sentences that seem very funny to me because how on earth will an attorney give someone a 280 years imprisonment rather than simply saying it's a life imprisonment?

No matter popular Ponzi scheme have become, there are people that will definitely fall for newer ones when they are launched and that's how gullible humans can be and I wouldn't use to blame them totally because people always want to make extra money at cost and when opportunities like this present themselves, people always want to take advantage of it and also don't forget that, most of these Ponzi schemes comes with legitimacy that seems almost authentic and almost impossible to turn down the offers that comes with it.

I don't know why, I fell the persecuted would and might be relaxed along the line because I don't see the sentence as something serious.

With this kind of sentence, I see it that the government has just used this young man as a scape goat to scare other ponzi scheme operators. This sentence is equivalent to life imprisonment because who lives up to 280 years? If you have ever been scammed by these ponzi schemes, you will wish them death for th pain they caused you.

These ponzi scheme operators are still striving in their scamming business because there are always people to buy their scam whenever it is launched. If the people because of their greed cannot stop encouraging these ponzi schemes to do what they do, then the government can step in with very severe punishment like this to scare the scammers and give them double thoughts about their actions.

[Wiwo]

In my country we have what we call Capital offenses like arm robbery's, kidnapping and the banditry, drug dealers, and Ponzi scheme operators, they all get same sentences, life imprisonment.

280 year's is equivalent to life in prison, so this sentence is not all that new and serves them right.

In this era and time people still fall for ponzi scheme, investment is something that is not verified, just promise of high returns on investment, that alone should be seen as the red flags.

[Shinpako09]

This is similar in our country, and until now, crypto Ponzi schemes still appear, and there are still victims of this kind of scam. With how our country operates, I believe they have connections and are paying protection money because they are not getting caught or detected early.

I don't get it. How are others still falling for the same trick again and again? The ROI is obviously too good to be true. You only need common sense to know it's a scam. I'm not victim blaming, but it is the truth. Even if you don't have knowledge about crypto, just the promised ROI is already enough to know it's a scam.

[Nasdel4]

Greed is part of every individual's default settings and only takes a disciplined person to overcome it. A lot of individuals fall for Ponzi scams like this out of that greed. This could also happen out of desperation or lack of knowledge and maybe they were convinced by someone close to them that they trust. But for the sentencing, I find it funny and not logical because who lives up to 280 years? I feel the sentence should have given room for him to refund the money and face lesser time in his sentence. It's sad to see people's lives being thrown away like that because of money.

[Dizciple]

You're correct. I want you to know that no one on the planet will choose to invest in something that will ultimately lead to their demise.
Even though we are aware of how a Ponzi scheme operates, some people are unaware of it. For instance, even though many people are aware of the ColdCard wallet hack, some people are still ignorant of it; the same thing goes for knowing the true information regarding Ponzi schemes model of operation. Additionally, we also have made some mistakes when we don't understand Bitcoin.

Information doesn't get to everyone but only those that are interested in staying updated, there are still many people that aren't aware of some type of scams and this makes them to keep being scammed. $24 million is a big amount of money and the man is supposed to pay back all the victims not just going to jail and then the victims are being left with nothing. I hope the authorities find a way to recover all the stolen money back to their victims because if they allow him to not payback then others will want to do the same and just do the time because most scammers aren't afraid of going to prison. Prison isn't the end of the world for them because they can still take care of their family with the money or escapes and leave the country with the money which isn't fair to the victims.

[Curious T]

Many of these shitcoins' developers are known, and their projects have been confirmed to be pumped and dump also faces some criminals charges they are not allowed to go free as long as there are evidence to link the project to the identity of someone, but the major problem is that most of the shitcoins out their don't have any figure or face behind them that could be held accountable which is where the scammers are always getting away with their scheme.

That is because it's not properly regulated. And the reason it's not properly regulated is that there is no single country that can regulate the whole market. If a country makes laws, it's for that country alone and doesn't apply to other countries. That is one of the major problems when it comes to crypto regulations.

It doesn't mean that if it's properly regulated, it would stop entirely, but it will reduce because people don't want to be caught, and they will need to be extra careful and with a stronger sentence, it might not be worth the risk. You can't stop crime entirely, but it is properly regulated and has strong punishments, it will reduce. Trump won't do what he did if there are clear rules and punishment for it. At least he won't use his name and family to do it.

[Outhue]

This is what I expected across the board, every developers and Blockchain projects startups must have this harsh law for them to limit scams in crypto space or else we will keep getting more shitcoins in this place, there is no one or forces going after crypto scammers and fraudulent developers, that's why we have so many rugpull projects everywhere. I don't even understand why we have SEC and what they have been doing, I don't see any hacker getting punished or sentenced, this is a good news to be honest.

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

When ever I come across news like this, I always wonder how some people get convinced by others to give out their own money just because they are being offered a high annual return. With how common ponzi schemes have been, how do people still fall victim to this type of Ponzi scam?

Greed, and these criminals knows how to play games with their victims. Offering huge amount of returns and even if this is an old age scams, there are still a lot of people who are going to fall for it.

And it's because they thought that they can easily multiply their money in an easy way. So first, the scammers will give you this false sense, and when you try to double your money, then that's how you are trapped by them.

[batang_bitcoin]

Greed, and these criminals knows how to play games with their victims. Offering huge amount of returns and even if this is an old age scams, there are still a lot of people who are going to fall for it.

As always, these people are greedy and they easily fall to these criminals and they know that's their weakness. They keep repeating this mistake and so the scammers will always do the same tactics as they do. And that's why these scams will never die because new victims always be there for them to find out. It is a sad thing but they're living in that kind of world and only themselves can change for the better if something happens IRL on these scammers.