Utah Crypto Fraudster Sentenced to Three Years in $2.9M Scheme
Brian Garry Sewell, 54, will serve 36 months in federal prison for orchestrating a cryptocurrency fraud that siphoned nearly $3 million from investors. The sentence includes three years of supervised release and $3.8 million in restitution—$3.6 million to defrauded parties and $217,727 to Homeland Security.
Prosecutors revealed Sewell concurrently operated an unlicensed cash-to-crypto operation moving $5.4 million, servicing clients tied to drug trafficking and other frauds. Judge Ann Marie McIff Allen delivered the concurrent sentences in a Utah federal court.
The case underscores growing regulatory scrutiny of off-ramp crypto services. "This wasn’t just fraud—it was a gateway for illicit finance," remarked an unnamed investigator familiar with the operation.
