IcomTech ponzi scheme mastermind gets 10 years for $8.4M crypto fraud

IcomTech founder David Carmona received a 121-month prison sentence for his involvement in an $8.4 million crypto fraud. His sentence also includes about three years of supervised release. Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, called out Carmona for orchestrating the entire Ponzi scheme.

He claimed Carmona lured consumers with false assurances of financial independence while exploiting their investments for personal indulgence.

IcomTech misled investors about profit potential

US District Judge Jennifer Rochon has sentenced IcomTech’s David Carmona to 10 years in prison for his role in an $8.4 million crypto fraud.

In 2018, David Carmona and six other individuals started IcomTech, pitching it as a crypto mining and trading company that could earn investors profits in return for buying some crypto-related products. The company convinced investors that they could even double their returns in at least six months, all of which turned out to be false.

Damian Williams, US Attorney, commented on the matter:

It was all a lie. And when the scheme came crashing down, Carmona’s victims were left with nothing. Carmona’s days of scamming honest people are at an end, and he now faces substantial time in prison.

– Damian Williams

In addition to his prison term, Carmona will have three years of supervised release. His co-conspirator, former IcomTech CEO Marco Ruiz Ochoa, was also sentenced to five years in prison in January. 

IcomTech intensified its marketing while misusing investor funds

Carmona and his associates actively promoted the company, travelling throughout the US and overseas, organizing expos and community presentations to draw in victims to invest in the scheme. They often wore extravagant clothes and accessories fronting the success of IcomTech.

The scheme allowed investors to check their progress in the supposed returns on an online portal once they made investments. However, while returns would reflect on the said portal, most investors could not access the funds. 

Investors had already raised concerns over the difficulty of withdrawing funds from their online accounts, only to receive excuses from the company’s leaders.  

At the time, IcomTech promoters could access the fund, but they were believed to have withdrawn victim funds to purchase real estate and luxury goods and organize their parties and expos. They even continued to promote the company, asking investors to claim their Icom tokens. However, ‘Icom’ turned out to be valueless, causing losses to several victims.