Ruíz Ochoa had previously pleaded guilty to fraud. A court hearing took place yesterday, resulting in Marco Ruiz Ochoa receiving a five-year prison sentence. Additionally, the court has ordered him to reimburse $914,000 in illegal proceeds. He will also be subjected to two years of post-release supervision.
“Ochoa took advantage of the cryptocurrency craze to deceive unsuspecting victims into investing in the IcomTech pyramid scheme. We want to make it clear that anyone following in his footsteps will face severe consequences,” stated US Attorney Damian Williams.
It’s worth mentioning that IcomTech claimed to be a mining and trading company that offered clients “investment products linked to cryptocurrencies”. Nevertheless, according to US law enforcement agencies, the company didn’t actually engage in any mining or trading activities and operated purely as a typical Ponzi scheme.
Recently, in Russia, a cryptocurrency project based on the TV series “The Boy’s Word” was identified as a financial pyramid.