Profit Connect shut down by SEC, $12 million Ponzi scheme
A mother and son ran a $12 million fraud that promised investors the impossible: a guaranteed 20% to 30% annual return generated by an "artificial intelligence supercomputer."
The SEC shut down Profit Connect and charged Brent Carson Kovar and his 86-year-old mother Joy Irene Kovar as the architects of the scheme. From mid-2018 onward, the pair swindled more than 277 investors through promises that their money would be invested in securities, bitcoin, and cryptocurrencies managed by their supposed AI system. The system, they claimed, consistently churned out enormous returns.
It was all fabricated. Over 90% of the money Profit Connect collected came directly from new investors, not from any trading bot or legitimate investments.
The Kovars moved the cash around to cover their tracks. They transferred millions into Joy Kovar's personal bank account, paid promoters who steered fresh investors to the website, and made payouts to earlier investors using money from newer recruits—the hallmark of any Ponzi scheme. Brent Kovar personally pocketed nearly $353,000 and bought himself a house, registering it under Profit Connect's name.
Profit Connect's bank statements told the real story: zero revenue, zero profits.
This wasn't Brent Kovar's first rodeo with the law. In 2010, the SEC already had him dead to rights. He'd run a pump-and-dump stock scheme and faced a permanent injunction, a penny stock bar, and was barred from serving as an officer or director of any company. Somehow he did it anyway.
Joy Kovar formed Profit Connect Wealth Services Corp. as a Nevada corporation on May 2, 2018, with the company based in Las Vegas. She listed herself as president, treasurer, and secretary. Her son used her name to give the operation a veneer of legitimacy while he ran the con.
The scheme raises questions about oversight that remains unanswered. Eddie Kona had been promoting Profit Connect on social media as late as mid-May and citing himself as the company's founder. He's a separate person from Brent Kovar, yet the SEC lawsuit makes no mention of him. His role in the fraud—if any—remains unclear.
The Kovars promised monthly compounding interest on their magical supercomputer returns. They delivered jail time instead.
🤖 Quick Answer
What is the Profit Connect fraud case?Profit Connect was a $12 million Ponzi scheme operated by Brent Carson Kovar and his mother Joy Irene Kovar. The scheme defrauded over 277 investors by promising guaranteed annual returns of 20-30% through an alleged artificial intelligence supercomputer managing securities and cryptocurrencies. The SEC shut down the operation, revealing that over 90% of collected funds derived from new investors rather than legitimate investments or trading activities.
How did the Profit Connect scam operate?
The scheme functioned as a classic Ponzi structure where Brent and Joy Kovar solicited investments from 277 individuals beginning mid-2018, claiming their capital would be managed by an advanced AI trading system. Returns purportedly came from securities, bitcoin, and cryptocurrency investments. In reality, the promised artificial intelligence system did not exist, and the operators
🔗 Related Articles
- Dawn Wright-Olivares pleads guilty to fraud
- CGI Limited Review: Crypto cockfight betting through Coinsinos?
- Listen as Ulrich Roux lavishes praise on MTI Ponzi scheme
- Ryan Evans added to SEC’s Saivian Ponzi lawsuit
- SEC confirms cryptocurrency MLMs are securities offerings