Ian Freeman Sentenced on All Charges Related to Bitcoin Money Laundering Scheme | USAO-NH

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CONCORD’s US attorney, Jane E. Young, announced that a federal jury had convicted Ian Freeman, 42, of Keene, on all counts of money laundering, conspiracy to launder money, operating an unlicensed money transfer business and tax evasion (four counts) .

According to exhibits and testimony during the ten-day trial, Freeman laundered more than ten million dollars in proceeds from romance scams and other internet fraud by exchanging US dollars for bitcoins. By failing to register his business with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network as required by law, disabling know-your-customer features on his bitcoin kiosks, and ensuring that bitcoin customers don’t tell him what they did with their bitcoin, among other things, Freeman created a business that catered to fraudsters. By charging exorbitant fees, Freeman made over a million dollars.

Records and exhibits prove that as part of the conspiracy, Freeman and his co-conspirators opened and operated accounts at financial institutions on behalf of various churches, including the Shire Free Church, the Church of the Invisible Hand. , the Crypto Church of New Hampshire and the NH Peace Church. Freeman asked bitcoin customers, who were often victims of scams, to lie to financial institutions and describe their deposits as donations to the church. From 2016 to 2019, he paid no taxes and hid his income from the Internal Revenue Service.

Freeman is scheduled to be sentenced on April 14, 2023.

The scam culture on the Internet has become a pervasive social problem. These crooks get away with their crimes, which often victimize some of our most vulnerable citizens, by hiding their tracks, including the money trail, U.S. Attorney Young said. Money launderers such as Ian Freeman are the ones who help hide the money from these scammers. Today’s quick verdict sends a strong message that this type of money laundering will not be tolerated. Stopping scammers by disrupting their methods to cover their tracks is an important federal goal. This lawsuit is an important step in achieving that goal.

Today’s verdict proves that Ian Freeman operated a large-scale, multimillion-dollar virtual currency business under the guise of a religious organization receiving charitable contributions that broke numerous laws to evade detection. As a member of this criminal conspiracy, Mr. Freeman took advantage of the emotions and bank accounts of unwitting victims to line his pockets, said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston division. Make no mistake, the FBI will continue its longstanding tradition of following money, whether physical or digital, to expose criminal schemes like this and the fraudsters behind them. We thank the jury for their service and their decision to hold Mr. Freeman accountable.

“Today, Ian Freeman became another example of an individual who attempted to conceal the true source of his money and was caught,” said Joleen Simpson, Special Agent in Charge, IRS – Criminal Investigations Boston. Field Office. Federal laws that regulate the reporting of financial transaction information are in place to detect and stop illegal activity, and the IRS will continue to take all necessary steps to ferret out those who attempt to evade their reporting obligations under the law.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations and the United States Postal Inspection Service. The National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team and the Justice Department’s Tax Division provided substantial assistance in this case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorneys Georgiana L. MacDonald, John Kennedy and Seth R. Aframe.

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