As a seasoned crypto investor who has seen the rise and fall of numerous projects, I can’t help but feel a sense of deja vu reading about Gustavo Rodriguez’s impending sentencing. The story of IcomTech, a crypto-based Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors, is all too familiar in this wild world of digital currencies.
In simpler terms, Gustavo Rodriguez, one of the key figures behind the cryptocurrency mining and trading company IcomTech who was found guilty of wire fraud, has some additional time to get ready for his testimony and questioning before he receives his sentence in a court in New York.
In an Oct. 22 hearing in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Rodriguez’s lawyers requested Judge Jennifer Rochon grant an evidentiary hearing, claiming the former IcomTech promoter wanted to testify at his March 2024 trial. Judge Rochon said the court would hear testimony from Rodriguez and a witness on Oct. 25.
Rodriguez was among the two individuals identified as promoters for IcomTech, joined by his coworker David Brend. They were both implicated in the indictment directed towards the project’s creator, David Carmona. The authorities claimed that IcomTech operated as a Ponzi scheme utilizing cryptocurrency, accumulating over $8 million from its users during the period between 2018 and 2019.
In December 2023, Caroma admitted guilt for a wire fraud conspiracy, and in October 2024, the court handed down a ten-year prison sentence to him.
As an analyst, I’m reporting that Brend and Rodriguez stood trial, and the jury returned a verdict of guilt for one count of wire fraud conspiracy in March 2024. In January, Judge Rochon handed down a five-year sentence to former IcomTech CEO Marco Ochoa following his guilty plea on charges similar to theirs.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams stated during David Carmona’s guilty plea in December 2023 that IcomTech was a massive cryptocurrency fraud scheme which tricked many investors. Carmona, along with his associates, built IcomTech on false promises and consistently took money from victims whenever they could.
Related to other crypto scams?
At the point of release, Brend was due to be sentenced on November 22nd. It’s uncertain what evidence Rodriguez plans to bring before the court on October 25th, but his legal team has referred to similarities with the AirBit crypto Ponzi scheme, for which several former executives were imprisoned.
Based on sentencing rules, Rodriguez and Brend could each spend up to 20 years and about 14.5 years in prison. The prosecution suggested that the judge give Rodriguez a sentence of 160 months, whereas his legal team asked for him to be granted time already served.
The U.S. government stated in a sentencing document on October 17th that David Brend and Gustavo Rodriguez decided to proceed with a trial instead of acknowledging their actions, which recklessly ruined the lives of others for their personal gain.
Starting in 2022, the convictions of Brend and Rodriguez signified the start of wrapping up criminal cases against numerous former IcomTech executives. This indictment was made public during the same week that the crypto exchange FTX went bankrupt.
The ongoing legal proceedings against FTX are nearing their end, with the last two officials implicated alongside Sam Bankman-Fried (former CEO) and Caroline Ellison (former CEO of Alameda Research), set to face sentencing in the coming weeks.
On October 30, it’s been arranged for Nishad Singh to attend court, while Gary Wang’s sentencing hearing is planned for November 20.
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2024-10-22 23:53