An Ohio resident, Larry Harmon, has been sentenced to three years in prison for operating Helix, a cryptocurrency mixer on the darknet.
During his time in the operation, Harmon oversaw the laundering of $300 million in assets, with the majority of the money coming from or going to darknet drug markets.
Helix Mixer Operator Larry Harmon Sentenced to 3 Years
Harmon pleaded guilty in 2021 to operating a cryptocurrency mixing platform that involved illegal activities. On November 15, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell granted him a lenient sentence in recognition of his cooperation in the Bitcoin Fog investigation. The case also involved Harmon and another individual linked to the Bitfinex hack.
Both testified about Bitcoin Fog, which the Bitfinex hackers used for years to launder stolen assets. The sentencing of all three individuals took place within 48 hours.
“The scope and impact of the defendant’s money laundering operation is truly staggering,” said Alden Pelker, the prosecutor in the Bitcoin Fog case. “He brought search engine optimization to local cocaine distributors,” she said.
Harmon initially built the Helix mixer to improve Bitcoin Fog’s functionality. He eventually shut down Helix two years before his arrest and testified in court, reducing his sentence from a maximum of twenty years to three years. Authorities ordered Harmon to forfeit $311 million in assets, which is worth at least 354,468 Bitcoins during his career.
His brother, Gary Harmon, was also found to be complicit in the crimes. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) seized 4,877 BTC from Larry Harmon as part of the investigation. The cryptocurrencies were stored in wallets accessed through a device in the IRS evidence vault.
Prosecutors allege that Gary Harmon used Larry’s information to recreate eight Bitcoin wallets, allowing him to transfer Bitcoin from those wallets and bypass IRS scrutiny. After the Bitcoins disappeared from the IRS security device, investigators found evidence linking Gary.
A photo found on his phone shows him at a nightclub in a bathtub full of cash. Gary is said to have used 68 Bitcoins as collateral for a $1.2 million loan. He also used some of the stolen money to buy a luxury apartment in Cleveland. Gary Harmon pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years in prison by Judge Howell.
Source: https://tintucbitcoin.com/helix-mixer-founder-earned-3-years-from-300-million-usd/
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