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IcomTech Executives Ordered To Pay $5 Million
Four IcomTech executives have been ordered to pay a staggering $5 million for running a scam and defrauding victims over $1 million. The scammers persuaded unsuspecting investors to put their money into a fake crypto mining and trading project, promising them a percentage of the profits.
The Los Angeles federal court has found these five individuals guilty of violating the U.S. Commodity Exchange Act and other regulations set by the country’s commodities watchdog, CFTC. This is yet another instance where regulators have caught up with malicious actors in the crypto world.
The $5 million penalty is a cumulative amount across the five executives, each paying $1 million as part of their punishment. In addition to this hefty fine, they are also prohibited from interacting with any CFTC-regulated products or seeking registration by the commodities regulator.
Unfortunately, 190 individuals fell prey to this IcomTech scam, with victims hailing from various countries including the United States. Instead of investing in the project as promised, the scammers misused most of the funds.
Three out of the five executives have already been sentenced to between five and ten years in prison for their roles in running the Ponzi scheme. The scam’s promoter, Gustavo Rodriguez, received an eight-year sentence in November, while IcomTech founder David Carmona was sentenced to 10 years in prison in October.
In a related development, CFTC charged IcomTech operators with fraud back in May 2023. In September 2023, former CEO Marco Ruiz admitted to operating a Ponzi scheme.
It remains to be seen how much of the stolen funds will be recovered and returned to the victims as the court has imposed this fine and sentenced most, if not all, IcomTech operators.
Source: fullycrypto.com
