High risk level Prosecuted

IcomTech

Purported crypto mining and trading company prosecuted in New York as a multi-level marketing Ponzi scheme; its founder received 121 months in prison.

Also known as: Icom Tech, IcomTech Mining

Type of scam

Ponzi and High-Yield Scheme

Jurisdiction

United States

First reported

Jun 2018

Last known activity

Dec 2019

How this operation works

IcomTech launched in mid-2018 selling purported cryptocurrency mining and trading products, with promoters promising guaranteed daily returns and that an investor's money would double within six months. According to the Department of Justice it was in reality a multi-level marketing Ponzi scheme that conducted no trading or mining for its investors; victim funds were used to pay other victims, to fund further promotion, and to enrich the promoters. Promotion was conducted largely in person, at lavish events in the United States and abroad where promoters appeared in branded merchandise and displayed expensive cars, and through Spanish-language community networks. Investors received access to an online portal showing balances and profits that did not reflect any real holdings. Withdrawal requests were delayed and eventually stopped. The prosecution in the Southern District of New York (United States v. David Carmona, 22 Cr. 551) resulted in a series of convictions. Founder David Carmona was sentenced to 121 months' imprisonment in October 2024. Chief executive Marco Ruiz Ochoa received five years, promoters David Brend and Gustavo Rodriguez ten years and eight years respectively, and Magdaleno Mendoza 71 months. The DOJ states the scheme defrauded tens of thousands of people of tens of millions of dollars.

Warning signs people reported

Guaranteed daily returns and a promise to double money within a fixed period
A dashboard showing profits that could not be verified or withdrawn
Recruitment through community and family networks rather than any regulated channel
Conspicuous displays of wealth used as the evidence that the returns were real
Withdrawals progressively delayed, then refused

Other identifiers

Company registration

IcomTech (Trading name)

What this operation claims about itself

Recorded as claimed. The licence check below is what we were able to verify.

Company name given: IcomTech
Regulator named: None named

Licence check

No licence on record

No registration was held for the investment products sold. The operation was prosecuted criminally for wire fraud conspiracy rather than pursued as a registration matter.

Official warnings

Have you lost money to this operation?

File a claim and we will assess what recovery routes are realistically open to you. We will tell you plainly if we do not think recovery is achievable.

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