A man from Utah has been sentenced to three years in federal prison after running a cryptocurrency investment scam that caused investors to lose more than $2.9 million, according to U.S. federal prosecutors.
The man, Brian Garry Sewell, is 54 years old. He will serve 36 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Court records show that at least 17 people were harmed by the scheme, which ran from late 2017 through April 2024.
Prosecutors say Sewell convinced people to give him money and crypto by lying about his experience and skills. He promised strong returns and claimed he knew how to grow their investments. In reality, the money was not invested as promised. Instead, it was misused.
On top of that, Sewell also admitted to running an unlicensed money-transmitting business. Between March and September of 2020, he operated a company called Rockwell Capital Management, where he converted more than $5.4 million in cash into cryptocurrency for other clients.
Federal authorities say some of those clients were connected to investment fraud and drug trafficking. Sewell charged fees for these transactions but never registered properly and ignored U.S. anti-money laundering rules, which is a serious federal violation.
The judge ordered Sewell to pay more than $3.6 million in restitution to victims of the wire fraud. He was also ordered to pay additional restitution to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The prison sentences for both crimes will run at the same time.
An FBI official said Sewell promised profits he could never deliver, leaving families with heavy financial losses and long-term damage.
This sentencing comes at a time when crypto-related crime is rising fast worldwide. According to blockchain data firm Chainalysis, illegal crypto addresses received about $154 billion in 2025, a massive jump from about $57 billion in 2024.
Much of that increase came from state-linked groups, including networks tied to North Korea, Russia, Iran-backed groups, and Chinese money-laundering operations.
North Korean hackers alone were responsible for about $2 billion in stolen cryptocurrency in 2025, making it the worst year on record for crypto theft linked to that country.
A huge part of those losses came from a February hack of the crypto exchange Bybit, where nearly $1.5 billion was stolen. Chainalysis says it was the largest digital asset theft ever recorded.
In short, this case highlights two things clearly: crypto scams are still very real, and governments are increasingly cracking down on those who abuse the system.
