A business owner in Las Vegas faces a statutory maximum sentence of 280 years in prison after a federal jury convicted him of running a $24 million crypto Ponzi scheme that defrauded at least 400 investors.

The US Justice Department said Monday that Brent Kovar was found guilty of 11 counts of wire fraud, two counts of mail fraud and two counts of money laundering following a nine-day trial.

Kovar owned Profit Connect from late 2017 to July 2021. The company purportedly used artificial intelligence software on a supercomputer to mine crypto and verify other crypto transactions.

Kovar falsely presented the company as profitable and promised fixed annual returns ranging from 15% to 30%, along with a 100% money-back guarantee. He also claimed…