Kromer’s Crypto Scam: A Broadband Project Gone Wrong

The story starts with a rural internet plan in Lovelock, Nevada. A special account was set up to hold money from the Nevada Department of Transportation and a grant from the U. S. Department of Agriculture. The purpose was clear: pay for equipment, labor and other approved costs to bring broadband to the community. Stephen Kromer, who ran Uprise Fiber, allegedly diverted that money. He moved it from the special account into his own bank account and then converted most of it into cryptocurrency. The coins were deposited in several exchanges, including Coinbase, Gemini and Crypto. com. To cover his tracks, Kromer altered the company’s financial records. He filed a false ledger to the USDA that claimed all transfers were for legitimate project expenses, when in fact they funded his personal accounts and crypto holdings.

Federal prosecutors charged him with 16 crimes. These include theft of government property, fraud against a federal program, money laundering through crypto and the submission of false documents. The case also ties in 31 state charges that cover similar wrongdoing on Nevada’s side. Kromer is currently under house arrest with GPS monitoring. His federal case will be heard after July 7, while a state trial is set for June 2027. A civil lawsuit from a contractor who was supposed to dig trenches has been postponed until after the state case, and another civil suit over unpaid equipment is also on hold. The situation illustrates how public funds can be misused when oversight fails. It shows that even projects meant to help rural communities can become targets for fraud, especially when new technologies like cryptocurrency are involved.

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