COMMENTARY: Nevada’s Latest Crypto Fraud Case Should Be a Warning to All of Us

Last month, a federal jury in Las Vegas convicted businessman Brent Kovar of running a scheme that took $24 million from at least 400 investors. Prosecutors said his company promised returns of 15 to 30 percent and claimed to have hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency reserves. It did not.

A month earlier, U.S. marshals in Nevada warned residents about scammers posing as deputy marshals and demanding cryptocurrency payments to clear fake warrants. In June, the Nevada attorney general warned about criminals directing victims to cryptocurrency kiosks.

The scams look different. The lesson is the same: Once the money is gone, getting it back can be extraordinarily difficult.

Nevadans reported more than $205 million in cryptocurrency-related losses in 2025, according to the FBI. That number is large enough to get anyone’s attention, but the stories behind it matter more. A retirement account drained. Money set aside for a child or grandchild gone. A victim embarrassed to tell family members what happened.

I have spent much of my career in public service and nonprofit work in Nevada. One thing I have learned is that strong communities do not wait for someone else to solve every problem. Neighbors look out for one another. Families have uncomfortable conversations before a crisis, not after one.