Coverage spread: 2 sources — 2 unrated
Lean ratings via AllSides / Media Bias-Fact-Check. How this works.
Where they agree
- Jeremie Sowerby of Fountain Hills pleaded guilty to wire fraud for schemes running from 2017 to 2023.
- The fraud affected more than 500 victims and involved fake cryptocurrency mining and investment operations.
- Sowerby agreed to pay up to $30 million in restitution as part of his plea deal.
Where they differ
- AZFamily provides extensive detail on the three separate schemes (Now Mining/VIP Mining/Millennium Technologies, Dunamis Global Technologies, and Justice Capital) and their individual victim counts and losses.
- AZFamily names co-defendant Luis Ortega and notes his case is still pending, along with how to report additional victims; 12 News’s brief item omits these details entirely.
- 12 News offers only a single-sentence summary focused on the restitution figure, without the sentencing date, maximum penalty, or company names covered by AZFamily.
Jeremie Sowerby, a Fountain Hills, Arizona man, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud for running a series of investment scams that defrauded more than 500 people between 2017 and 2023. As part of his plea deal, he agreed to pay up to $30 million in restitution, and he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced on Oct. 14.
What exactly did Sowerby admit to doing?
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona, Sowerby faced charges in three separate criminal cases and admitted to running distinct fraud schemes over roughly six years. The first, from 2017 to 2018, involved a cryptocurrency operation run under three shell entities — Now Mining, VIP Mining and Millennium Technologies. Posing as a multilevel marketing promoter, Sowerby defrauded more than 400 people out of at least $7.5 million. He was indicted in that scheme alongside co-defendant Luis Ortega, whose case is still pending.
The second scheme, run through a company called Dunamis Global Technologies from 2018 to 2019, targeted at least 150 victims. Sowerby convinced them to buy cryptocurrency mining machines that, prosecutors say, never actually existed. Victims in that scheme lost several million dollars combined.
The third scheme centered on Justice Capital, active from 2021 to 2023. Sowerby marketed it as an exclusive hedge fund for high-income earners, claiming it traded using an automated “bot” algorithm. Prosecutors say at least one victim lost $207,000 through that operation.
What is Sowerby required to pay back?
Under the plea agreement, Sowerby agreed to restitution of up to $30 million covering victims across a long list of associated companies, including Now Mining, VIP Mining, Millennium Technologies, Dunamis Global Technologies, SOFTEK LLC, Justice Capital, Stealth Capital, FX Primary, Phoenix Ultra, Limitless Trading, Block Mint, Block X (BLKX), Digital Mint, 888 Management, Kannabiz Koin, Kannabiz Monkeez, My Blockchain Life, My Block X and We Sell Miners. The breadth of that list suggests Sowerby cycled through many branded entities over the years to run overlapping or successive schemes.
Are there more victims who haven’t come forward?
Prosecutors say yes. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has identified some victims already but believes others affected by Sowerby and Ortega have not yet been located or reported losses. Anyone who believes they were defrauded by either man is being asked to contact the Victim Witness Section at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona by email or through an online questionnaire, so the office can account for additional losses ahead of sentencing and restitution proceedings.
Why this case matters
The case is one of the larger investment fraud prosecutions to come out of Arizona in recent years, both in terms of the dollar amount — up to $30 million in restitution — and the number of victims, which tops 500 people across multiple schemes. It also illustrates a common pattern in cryptocurrency-related fraud: using a rotating cast of company names and rebranded products (mining machines, mining pools, algorithmic trading funds) to keep attracting new victims even as earlier ventures collapsed or drew scrutiny. Ortega’s case remains pending, meaning further legal proceedings and potential victim outreach connected to the broader scheme are still ahead. Sowerby’s sentencing on Oct. 14 will determine how much of the maximum 20-year prison term he actually serves.
Sources
Featured photo: BowenLarsen via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)