A federal jury convicted Las Vegas businessman Brent C. Kovar of fraudulently obtaining $24 million from at least 400 investors through a cryptocurrency investment scheme, according to federal prosecutors.
Kovar owned Profit Connect from late 2017 through July 2021. The company claimed to use artificial intelligence software and a supercomputer to mine cryptocurrency and verify transactions. Prosecutors said those claims were false and that the business lacked the cryptocurrency reserves it advertised.
The jury found Kovar guilty after a nine-day trial on 11 counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud and two counts of money laundering. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 30, 2026.
The case exposed a web of false promises that targeted crypto investors seeking high returns.
How Profit Connect attracted investors
Prosecutors said Kovar promised investors fixed annual returns ranging from 15% to 30%. He also offered a 100% money-back guarantee and claimed the company had hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency reserves.
Authorities said Kovar knew Profit Connect was not profitable and could not deliver those guarantees. Instead, investigators found that he used investor funds to operate the company, purchase employee gifts and buy a house.
Kovar also used incoming investor money to make payments to earlier investors. Those payments were presented as if they came from cryptocurrency mining and transaction verification.
The scheme’s technology claims helped give the investment operation an appearance of legitimacy. However, prosecutors said the promised cryptocurrency infrastructure and reserves did not exist.
Sentencing could bring a lengthy prison term
Kovar faces a statutory maximum of 280 years in prison. That figure represents the maximum penalties allowed across the federal charges and does not mean he will receive a 280-year sentence.
A federal judge will determine the actual punishment after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case was investigated by federal criminal investigators from the FBI, IRS and FDIC’s inspector general. The conviction adds another major enforcement action to a growing body of cryptocurrency fraud cases involving fabricated returns, nonexistent assets and misuse of investor funds.
