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United States of America v. David Carmona
Date: 01-19-2024
Case Number: 1:22-cr-00551
Judge: Jennifer L. Rochon
Court: The United States Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: The United States Attorney’s Office in New York City
Defendant's Attorney:
Click Here For The Best Indianapolis, Indiana Criminal Defense Lawyer Directory
Description:
DAVID CARMONA started IcomTech in 2018, and IcomTech promotional materials put OCHOA forward as IcomTech's CEO until 2019, when a new CEO replaced him. IcomTech was a purported cryptocurrency mining and trading company that promised to earn its victim-investors ("Victimsâ€) profits in exchange for their purchase of purported cryptocurrency-related investment products. OCHOA and the other promoters of IcomTech, including his co-defendants CARMONA, JUAN ARELLANO, MOSES VALDEZ, and DAVID BREND, falsely promised their respective Victims, among other things, that profits from the company's cryptocurrency trading and mining would result in guaranteed daily returns on Victims' investments. In reality, IcomTech did not engage in cryptocurrency trading or mining for its Investors, and OCHOA and IcomTech's other promoters used Victim funds to pay other Victims to further promote the schemes and to enrich themselves.
IcomTech promoters, including OCHOA, traveled throughout the United States and internationally, where they hosted lavish expos and small community presentations aimed at luring Victims to invest in the schemes, including in the Southern District of New York. During larger-scale events, IcomTech promoters presented on purported investment products and the compensation plan, encouraged Victims to invest as a means of achieving financial freedom, and boasted about the amount of money they were earning. IcomTech promoters often showed up at larger-scale events in expensive cars and wearing luxury clothing as a way of exhibiting their purportedly legitimate success from IcomTech. The atmosphere of these events was festive and designed to generate excitement about the schemes.
Victims invested in IcomTech by purchasing investment products from promoters using cash, checks, wire transfers, and actual cryptocurrency. Following a Victim's investment, a Victim would be provided with access to an online portal where the Victim could monitor the purported returns. While Victims saw "profits†accumulate on the online portal, most Victims were unable to withdraw any of these so-called profits and ultimately lost their entire investments. By contrast, IcomTech's promoters, including OCHOA, siphoned off, in some cases, hundreds of thousands of dollars in Victim funds, which they withdrew as cash, spent on IcomTech promotional expenses, and used for personal expenditures such as luxury goods and real estate.
At least as early as August 2018, Victims who attempted to withdraw money from their online portal accounts had difficulty doing so and, when they complained to promoters, they were met with excuses, delays, and hidden fees, if they were able to make any withdrawals at all. Despite these complaints, IcomTech promoters, including OCHOA, continued to promote IcomTech and accept Victims' investments. As complaints mounted, IcomTech began offering proprietary crypto tokens for sale as a means of injecting liquidity into IcomTech. Promoters of the schemes claimed that these tokens, known as "Icoms,†would eventually be worth a significant amount of money when they were accepted by companies for payment for goods and services. This was false. In reality, "Icoms†were essentially worthless and resulted in further financial loss to Victims. By in or about the end of 2019, IcomTech stopped making payments to Victims and IcomTech collapsed.
* * *
In addition to the prison term, OCHOA, 35, of Nashua, New Hampshire, was sentenced to two years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $914,000 in criminal proceeds.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of Special Agents from Homeland Security Investigations' El Dorado Task Force. Mr. Williams also thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for their assistance.
If you believe you are a victim of the IcomTech fraud, updated information regarding the case and victims' rights, as well as contact information for the victim witness coordinator is available here.
The case is being handled by the Office's Illicit Finance and Money Laundering Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin A. Gianforti, Michael Maimin, Josiah Pertz, and Cecilia E. Vogel are in charge of the prosecution.
New York, New York Criminal Defense Lawyer represented the Defendant charged with engaging in a Cryptocurrency Ponzi Scheme "IcomTech.â€
DAVID CARMONA started IcomTech in 2018, and IcomTech promotional materials put OCHOA forward as IcomTech's CEO until 2019, when a new CEO replaced him. IcomTech was a purported cryptocurrency mining and trading company that promised to earn its victim-investors ("Victimsâ€) profits in exchange for their purchase of purported cryptocurrency-related investment products. OCHOA and the other promoters of IcomTech, including his co-defendants CARMONA, JUAN ARELLANO, MOSES VALDEZ, and DAVID BREND, falsely promised their respective Victims, among other things, that profits from the company's cryptocurrency trading and mining would result in guaranteed daily returns on Victims' investments. In reality, IcomTech did not engage in cryptocurrency trading or mining for its Investors, and OCHOA and IcomTech's other promoters used Victim funds to pay other Victims to further promote the schemes and to enrich themselves.
IcomTech promoters, including OCHOA, traveled throughout the United States and internationally, where they hosted lavish expos and small community presentations aimed at luring Victims to invest in the schemes, including in the Southern District of New York. During larger-scale events, IcomTech promoters presented on purported investment products and the compensation plan, encouraged Victims to invest as a means of achieving financial freedom, and boasted about the amount of money they were earning. IcomTech promoters often showed up at larger-scale events in expensive cars and wearing luxury clothing as a way of exhibiting their purportedly legitimate success from IcomTech. The atmosphere of these events was festive and designed to generate excitement about the schemes.
Victims invested in IcomTech by purchasing investment products from promoters using cash, checks, wire transfers, and actual cryptocurrency. Following a Victim's investment, a Victim would be provided with access to an online portal where the Victim could monitor the purported returns. While Victims saw "profits†accumulate on the online portal, most Victims were unable to withdraw any of these so-called profits and ultimately lost their entire investments. By contrast, IcomTech's promoters, including OCHOA, siphoned off, in some cases, hundreds of thousands of dollars in Victim funds, which they withdrew as cash, spent on IcomTech promotional expenses, and used for personal expenditures such as luxury goods and real estate.
At least as early as August 2018, Victims who attempted to withdraw money from their online portal accounts had difficulty doing so and, when they complained to promoters, they were met with excuses, delays, and hidden fees, if they were able to make any withdrawals at all. Despite these complaints, IcomTech promoters, including OCHOA, continued to promote IcomTech and accept Victims' investments. As complaints mounted, IcomTech began offering proprietary crypto tokens for sale as a means of injecting liquidity into IcomTech. Promoters of the schemes claimed that these tokens, known as "Icoms,†would eventually be worth a significant amount of money when they were accepted by companies for payment for goods and services. This was false. In reality, "Icoms†were essentially worthless and resulted in further financial loss to Victims. By in or about the end of 2019, IcomTech stopped making payments to Victims and IcomTech collapsed.
* * *
In addition to the prison term, OCHOA, 35, of Nashua, New Hampshire, was sentenced to two years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $914,000 in criminal proceeds.
Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of Special Agents from Homeland Security Investigations' El Dorado Task Force. Mr. Williams also thanked the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for their assistance.
If you believe you are a victim of the IcomTech fraud, updated information regarding the case and victims' rights, as well as contact information for the victim witness coordinator is available here.
The case is being handled by the Office's Illicit Finance and Money Laundering Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin A. Gianforti, Michael Maimin, Josiah Pertz, and Cecilia E. Vogel are in charge of the prosecution.
Outcome:
Defendant was found guilty and sentenced to Five-Year Prison Term
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments:
About This Case
What was the outcome of United States of America v. David Carmona?
The outcome was: Defendant was found guilty and sentenced to Five-Year Prison Term
Which court heard United States of America v. David Carmona?
This case was heard in The United States Court for the Southern District of New York (Manhattan County), NY. The presiding judge was Jennifer L. Rochon.
Who were the attorneys in United States of America v. David Carmona?
Plaintiff's attorney: The United States Attorney’s Office in New York City. Defendant's attorney: Click Here For The Best Indianapolis, Indiana Criminal Defense Lawyer Directory.
When was United States of America v. David Carmona decided?
This case was decided on January 19, 2024.