An Ohio man guilty of Bitcoin laundering must forfeit over $400 million in assets

An Ohio antheral named Larry Dean Harmon volition service 3 years successful situation and forfeit much than $400 cardinal worthy of cryptocurrency and different assets, the Department of Justice announced connected Friday. Harmon was indicted successful 2020 connected wealth laundering conspiracy charges related to Helix, a darkweb cryptocurrency “mixer” work helium ran.

Also known arsenic crypto “tumbling,” services similar Helix are designed to fell cryptocurrency transactions — often for amerciable drugs — and the individuality of radical involved. From 2014 to 2017, Harmon processed much than 350,000 Bitcoin (about $311 cardinal USD astatine the time) successful specified transactions, according to the DOJ’s announcement.

Harmon, who pleaded blameworthy to conspiracy to perpetrate wealth laundering successful August 2021, volition beryllium connected the hook for 3 years of supervised merchandise aft serving his situation sentence. He besides received a $311,145,854 forfeiture wealth judgment.

He faced a imaginable 20 years successful prison, but the justice successful the lawsuit gave him a much lenient condemnation aft helium helped with aggregate different investigations, arsenic The Wall Street Journal notes. That reportedly included his grounds successful the proceedings of Roman Sterlingov, who ran different crypto mixer called Bitcoin Fog.