coindesk.com
A Southern Utah man was sentenced to three years in federal prison for wire fraud prosecutors said cost investors millions of dollars and involved converting bulk cash into cryptocurrency through an unlicensed money transmitting business.
“The FBI will continue to put victims first by holding offenders accountable and pursuing those who misuse cryptocurrency and unlicensed financial services to exploit others,” said Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls of the Salt Lake City FBI.
His statement comes days after a Chainalysis report that revealed $17 billion in cryptocurrency was lost to scams and frauds worldwide as impersonation tactics, social engineering schemes and AI-generated scams increased.
In a press release Thursday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah said Brian Garry Sewell, 54, of Washington County, was sentenced to 36 months’ imprisonment followed by 36 months of supervised release after pleading guilty to wire fraud.
Prosecutors said Sewell participated in a scheme between December 2017 and April 2024 to defraud victims by obtaining their money and cryptocurrency, telling investors he had the experience and education to generate large returns. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Sewell obtained more than $2.9 million from at least 17 investors.
In a separate case, prosecutors said Sewell operated Rockwell Capital Management as an unlicensed money transmitting business between March and September 2020, converting bulk cash into cryptocurrency on behalf of third parties, including criminals engaged in fraud and drug trafficking. Authorities said Sewell and his company converted more than $5.4 million and charged fees for each transaction.
U.S. District Court Judge Ann Marie McIff Allen ordered Sewell to pay more than $3.6 million in restitution in the wire fraud case, along with additional restitution to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, according to the release.