Utah man has been sentenced to three years in prison for defrauding investors and operating an unlicensed business that converted millions in bulk cash into cryptocurrency, prosecutors said Thursday.
Brian Garry Sewell, 54, was sentenced to 36 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release after pleading guilty to wire fraud that cost investors more than $2.9 million.
In a separate case, he also pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business that converted more than $5.4 million in cash into cryptocurrency for third-party clients, including criminals involved in fraud and drug trafficking.
Both sentences will run concurrently, resulting in a total prison term of three years, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah.
U.S. District Court Judge Ann Marie McIff Allen also ordered Sewell to pay $3,822,909 in total restitution. The sum includes $3,605,182 to defrauded investors, a mortgage lender, a credit union, and $217,727 to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.