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An Ohio man has pleaded guilty to stealing over 712 bitcoins which were “seized” by the US government in another criminal case. He agreed to give up bitcoin, ether and dogecoin as part of his plea. “Due to increasing market prices, the total value of these forfeitable properties exceeds $12 million,” the US Department of Justice (DOJ) said.
US man steals his brother’s ‘seized’ bitcoin
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Friday that a 31-year-old man from Ohio, Gary James Harmon, pleaded guilty to “illegally stealing” bitcoins that were “seized” by the federal government. in his brother’s ongoing criminal case. The DOJ describes:
Harmon pleaded guilty to wire fraud and obstruction of justice for illegally taking more than 712 bitcoins that were seized by law enforcement and subject to forfeiture as part of the criminal prosecution in course against Larry Harmon.
As part of his plea, Gary Harmon agreed to confiscate “cryptocurrencies and other properties derived from the proceeds fraudulently taken, including more than 647.41 bitcoins (BTC), 2.14 ethereum (ETH) and 17,404,400, 64 dogecoin (DOGE),” the DOJ added. “Due to increasing 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 evidence locker (IRS). Federal authorities had not taken control of the parts due to the complex security of the device, the DOJ explained.
Larry Harmon pleaded guilty in August 2021 to money laundering conspiracy in connection with “his operation of Helix, a darknet-based money laundering service known as ‘mixer’ or ‘tumbler’ “, detailed the DOJ, noting:
As Harmon later admitted, Helix laundered over 350,000 bitcoins – valued at over $300 million at the time of trades – on behalf of clients, 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 by 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 over 712 BTC, valued at around $4.8 million at the time, from the bank. device seized from his brother to his own bitcoin wallets in April. 2020. He then laundered the proceeds through two online mixers before using them to fund his own expenses, the DOJ described.
The Department of Justice noted that regarding the Gary Harmon case:
The wire fraud charge carries a maximum statutory penalty of up to 20 years in prison; the charge of obstructing justice carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison.
Tags in this story FBI, IRS, seized bitcoin, seized btc, seized crypto, seized cryptocurrency, steal government crypto, steal government cryptocurrency, steal from FBI, steal from IRS, US government
What do you think about Gary Harmon stealing bitcoins seized by the federal government? Let us know in the comments section below.
Kevin Helms
Image credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons
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