US Court Hands Crypto Mixer
Operator 3-
Year Jail Term Details
US Court Hands Crypto Mixer Operator 3-Year Jail Term Details
by Semilore Faleti
3 minutes ago
in Crypto News
0
In an interesting development, the US courts have sentenced a crypto mixer
operator from Ohio to jail. This development comes amidst active enforcement
actions by US prosecutors on crypto mixers due to their reported role in
aiding money laundering, hacks, and other illicit activities.
Related Reading: No Bail For Tornado Cash Dev Alexey Pertsev, Dutch Court
Rules
Helix Founder To Serve 3-Year Prison Sentence, Forfeit Over $700 Million
In an official release , the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that
Larry Harmon, founder and operator of crypto mixer Helix, has received a
three-year jail sentence.
Larry Harmon pled guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering back in
2021, following an indictment in his role for operating Helix which was used
to launder 354,468 Bitcoin• Экономика » Финансы » Платежные средства » Платежные системы интернета » Криптовалюта » Bitcoin, valued at over $300 million, in proceeds of drug
trafficking. The developer from Ohio also ran a darknet search engine called
Grams which allowed users access to contraband items including hacking tools,
fake documents, hard drugs, etc.
Grams operated in conjunction with Helix on the darknet with both applications
mostly being used for drug sales, a percentage of which was remitted to Harmon
as commission and operating fees. The DOJ stated that Harmon ran Helix from
2014-2017, shutting the crypto mixer service voluntarily before his arrest in
2020.
In a court ruling on November 15, US Judge Beryl Howell of the District of
Columbia sentenced Larry Harmon to three years in prison, with an additional
three years of supervised release.
Prosecutors had initially sought a six-year prison term for the 41-year-old
defendant, however, Harmon’s cooperation with law enforcement as seen in his
testimony in the trial of Roman Sterlingov, operator of crypto mixer Bitcoin• Экономика » Финансы » Платежные средства » Платежные системы интернета » Криптовалюта » Bitcoin
Fog, coupled with the “early” termination of the Helix mixer years before his
arrest earned him some credit with the Judge.
In addition to the given prison sentence, the convicted crypto mixer operator
is to forfeit the cash equivalent of $311.14 million and physical and digital
assets valued at over $400 million.
Related Reading: Crypto Heist Funds On The Move: Poloniex Hacker Transfers
$3.4 Million To Tornado Cash
Crypto Mixer Operators Under Fire
Interestingly, Larry Harmon joins Sterlingov as the second crypto mixer
operator to receive a prison sentence from US courts in the past week. The
Bitcoin• Экономика » Финансы » Платежные средства » Платежные системы интернета » Криптовалюта » Bitcoin Fog operator was ordered on November 8 to serve 12.5 years in jail for
operating the longest-running Bitcoin• Экономика » Финансы » Платежные средства » Платежные системы интернета » Криптовалюта » Bitcoin laundering service which
ran from 2011 to 2021.
However, all attention remains on the case of Tornado Cash co-founder and
developer Roman Storm who is set to face trial in April 2025 .
Prosecutors have launched four charges against Storm for his role in creating
and operating Tornado Cash which they claimed has facilitated over $1 billion
in money laundering. The US citizen will spend 45 years behind bars if
convicted. Storm’s case remains one of public interest from the crypto
community who believe a developer should not be prosecuted for the use of his
software. These sentiments have been backed by massive donations towards a
legal defense fund from prominent entities including Vitalik Buterin• Объект человек » Персоналии по алфавиту » Персоналии на Бу » Бутерин, Виталик , the
Uniswap DAO, etc.
Total crypto market cap at $2.9 trillion on the daily chart: TradingView.com
Featured image from tciengineers.com, chart from Tradingview