Bitcoin News and Finance
Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing Bitcoin ‘Seized’ by US Government Skip to main content

Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing Bitcoin ‘Seized’ by US Government

Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing Bitcoin Seized by US Government

An Ohio man has pleaded guilty to stealing over 712 bitcoin that was “seized” by the U.S. government in another criminal case. He has agreed to forfeit some bitcoin, ether, and dogecoin as part of his plea. “Due to the increase in market prices, the total value of these forfeitable properties exceeds $12 million,” said the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).

US Man Steals Brother’s ‘Seized’ Bitcoin

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Friday that a 31-year-old Ohio man, Gary James Harmon, has pleaded guilty to “unlawfully stealing” bitcoin that was “seized” by the federal government in his brother’s pending criminal case. The DOJ described:

Harmon pleaded guilty to wire fraud and obstruction of justice for unlawfully taking more than 712 bitcoin that had been seized by law enforcement and was subject to forfeiture in the pending criminal prosecution of Larry Harmon.

As part of his plea, Gary Harmon agreed to forfeit “cryptocurrencies and other properties derived from the fraudulently taken proceeds, including more than 647.41 bitcoin (BTC), 2.14 ethereum (ETH), and 17,404,400.64 dogecoin (DOGE),” the DOJ added. “Due to the increase in market prices, the total value of these forfeitable properties exceeds $12 million.”

The Stolen ‘Seized’ Bitcoin

The stolen bitcoin was stored in a Trezor hardware wallet that was seized by the federal government in connection with Larry Harmon, who was arrested in February 2020. The device was stored in an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) evidence locker. The federal authorities had not taken control of the coins due to the device’s complex security, the DOJ explained.

Larry Harmon pleaded guilty in August 2021 to money laundering conspiracy in connection with “his operation of Helix, a darknet-based cryptocurrency money laundering service, known as a ‘mixer’ or ‘tumbler,'” the DOJ detailed, noting:

As Harmon later admitted, Helix laundered over 350,000 bitcoin — valued at over $300 million at the time of the transactions — on behalf of customers, with the largest volume coming from darknet markets.

As part of his arrest, law enforcement seized various assets, including a hardware wallet containing the illegal proceeds generated through his Helix operation.

However, while the government was still trying to gain access to the seized bitcoin, Gary Harmon used his brother’s credentials to transfer more than 712 BTC, valued at approximately $4.8 million at the time, from his brother’s seized device to his own bitcoin wallets in April 2020. He then laundered the proceeds through two online mixers before using them to finance his own expenditures, the DOJ described.

The Justice Department noted that regarding the Gary Harmon case:

The wire fraud charge carries a statutory maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison; the obstruction of justice charge carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

What do you think about Gary Harmon stealing bitcoin that was seized by the federal government? Let us know in the comments section below.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Custodial Lightning Network Service Attack Discovered by LN ‘Newbie’ — Hacker Strikes 6 LN Custodians

On September 18, a Redditor posted to the r/bitcoin forum and explained how he discovered a way to “attack [the] lightning Network’s custodial services.” The Reddit account dubbed “Reckless Satoshi” wanted to figure out if a “discrepancy between real routing fees and service’s transaction fee can be exploited for a profit.” The researcher disclosed that he wanted to see how large the damage could be and said “it is bad.” 6 Lightning Network Custodial Services Attacked, Researcher Discloses Findings to Offenders Prior to Public Disclosure A Redditor called Reckless Satoshi published a disclosure post on r/bitcoin this past Saturday and disclosed how he had found a vulnerability with routing fees and some of the Lightning Network’s custodial services. The research attack was done in good faith and after it was complete he disclosed the bugs to the offending services before publishing his findings. Reckless Satoshi used the Lightning Network (LN) attack on six different services incl
Post a Comment
Read more

Axie Infinity Down 40% Since Last Week’s Price High, Protocol Revenue Outshines Competitors

Last week, the game token leveraged within the Axie Infinity gaming universe skyrocketed to all-time highs, while other crypto markets remained extremely lackluster. During the last seven days, Axie Infinity’s platform token has dropped significantly in value shedding more than 12%. Meanwhile, the game platform’s smooth love potion token has slid over 8% over the last 24 hours. Axie Infinity Down More Than 40% Since All-Time High Not too long ago, the axie infinity (AXS) token was a topical conversation because it reached an all-time high on July 15. At the time, AXS managed to capture $28.93 per unit and since then it has shed 12.8% during the last seven days. The axie infinity (AXS) token is used within the blockchain-based game that involves battles between token-based creatures called “Axies.” AXS is used for the game’s governance system as well as other actions within the game. At the time of writing axie infinity (AXS) is exchanging hands for $16.70 per coin. AXS/USD on Ju
Post a Comment
Read more

Play-to-Earn Game From Polker (PKR) Exchange Listing – Endorsed by Akon

The Play-to-Earn NFT based Polker.Game ‘s native token $PKR has been officially listed on the popular centralized exchange BitMart. Polker.game has been in the spotlight recently as Akon, the American R&B superstar and record producer gave his official endorsement of polker stating that the “game is revolutionary” and that Polker is “hands down.. the best play to earn, NFT game in the space.”. With the BitMart listing and celebrity endorsement from Akon, Polker is perfectly positioned to become a major player in the Play-to-Earn league. Watch Akon’s Video Here What is Play-to-Earn? Although not a new concept, play-to-earn has become a trending term due to the popularity of the NFT game AXIE infinity. In the past, previous play-to-earn games have also achieved success – however, thanks to the huge amount of development in the blockchain space in recent years the gaming experience is now massively improved. Play-to-Earn games are essentially free to play and open to anyone and
Post a Comment
Read more

China to Crack Down on Copyright Infringement Through NFTs

Authorities in China are going after creators of digital collectibles based on other people’s works of art, the use of which was not authorized. The government offensive is part of a campaign to combat online copyright infringement and piracy with the participation of several departments. Regulators in China Move to Strengthen Copyright Supervision of Online Platforms The National Copyright Administration of China (NCAC) has recently launched a campaign against copyright infringement and piracy on the internet, together with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, and the State Internet Information Office of the People’s Republic. A major objective of the initiative is to improve copyright supervision of online businesses by investigating cases involving the sale and distribution of infringing products on short video, live broadcast and e-commerce platforms, and promptly dealing with infringing content, the agency announced in a press r
Post a Comment
Read more
Blogarama - Blog Directory