TL;DR
- Magdaleno Mendoza was sentenced to 71 months in jail for his function as a senior promoter of IcomTech, a crypto Ponzi scheme that operated below the guise of mining and buying and selling.
- The Division of Justice stated Mendoza coordinated and led investor recruitment inside Spanish-speaking communities with no prior monetary expertise.
- Along with the jail sentence, Mendoza should pay almost $790,000 in restitution, forfeit $1.5 million, and give up a house in California.
Magdaleno Mendoza was sentenced to 71 months in jail for his function as a senior promoter of the IcomTech crypto Ponzi scheme. The sentence was handed down within the Southern District of New York and brings to an finish a fraudulent operation that operated for years below the looks of a cryptocurrency mining and buying and selling firm.
Based on the Division of Justice, Mendoza held a central place throughout the scheme’s business construction. He labored immediately with founder David Carmona, took half in planning promotional occasions, and led investor recruitment throughout a number of U.S. cities. His main function was to appeal to victims, notably inside working-class Spanish-speaking communities, lots of whom had no prior funding expertise.
IcomTech Focused Victims With out Monetary Expertise
IcomTech started working in 2018 with a easy and efficient promise: assured every day returns supposedly generated via crypto mining and buying and selling actions. That exercise by no means existed. Funds from new traders have been used to pay earlier contributors and to finance the promoters’ private bills, together with journey, luxurious vehicles, costly clothes, and actual property purchases.
IcomTech’s construction relied closely on in-person promotion. Promoters organized expos, neighborhood talks, and closed-door occasions the place they displayed seen indicators of wealth. Mendoza went so far as utilizing his personal restaurant within the Los Angeles space as a recruitment hub, the place he collected 1000’s of {dollars} in money. Buyers got entry to a digital portal that displayed fictitious earnings. In apply, most have been unable to withdraw any funds.
Complaints over account freezes, delays, and hidden charges started as early as 2018. As liquidity dried up, the corporate launched its personal token, known as Icoms, marketed as an answer to unlock funds and create future worth. The asset had no backing and finally amplified investor losses. By the top of 2019, the scheme had totally collapsed.
Penalties of the Fraud
Authorities estimate that not less than 190 individuals have been affected by the IcomTech rip-off and that the fraud exceeded $1 million, though the whole harm is believed to be greater. Mendoza was not the one particular person convicted. David Carmona obtained a 121-month jail sentence, and former CEO Marco Ruiz Ochoa was sentenced to 5 years, together with different promoters and collaborators.
Along with jail time, Mendoza should pay almost $790,000 in restitution, forfeit $1.5 million, and give up his California residence.
