David Carmona, founder of the IcomTech Ponzi scheme, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for defrauding investors through fake crypto mining and trading products. He and others promised guaranteed returns, swindling victims via cash, checks, and cryptocurrencies.
David Carmona, the proprietor of the cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme IcomTech, has been sentenced to ten years in prison. This decision was made in the past week. The US Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, disclosed this development on October 4.
Carmona to Serve 121 Months in Jail for Crypto Fraud
In 2018, IcomTech was established by Carmona and other individuals, as per the statement published. The company was marketed as a crypto mining and trading company that facilitated the acquisition of purported crypto-related investment products, thereby enabling investors to generate profits.
Carmona and other IcomTech promoters sold these fictitious investment funds to unsuspecting victims, promising to double their capital within six months and provide daily returns. Cash, checks, remittances, and even cryptocurrencies were employed to facilitate the acquisition of goods.
Typically, each investor was granted access to an online portal that allowed them to monitor their purportedly accruing gains.
Nevertheless, these victims consistently encountered challenges in withdrawing their profits or capital from the online platform, which led to complaints that were resolved through the use of excuses, delays, and concealed charges for the few successful withdrawals.
In response to the escalating levels of complaints and tensions, IcomTech initiated the provision of native digital coins, which they referred to as “Icoms,” as compensation. They maintained that these coins would appreciate in value and could be used as a medium of exchange for goods and services.
The IcomTech Ponzi scheme ultimately collapsed as a result of this initiative, which also proved to be false.
The US authorities’ investigations promptly disclosed that Carmona and other co-conspirators of IcomTech had sold fraudulent crypto investment products to unsuspecting investors. The funds from these sales were subsequently diverted to attract additional victims through extravagant expositions and personal expenses.
Carmona was indicted by the US Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, in December 2022 for conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
He pleaded guilty to the charge. Judge Jennifer L. Rochon imposed a 121-month imprisonment sentence on the crypto fraudster in October 2024, which will be followed by three years of supervised release.
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, conveyed his profound gratitude for Carmona’s prison sentence in response to this development.
Carmona’s days of scamming honest people are at an end, and he now faces substantial time in prison.Â
Marco Ruiz, the former CEO of IcomTech, is currently incarcerated after serving a five-year sentence in January.
