In an interesting development, US courts have sentenced a cryptocurrency mixer operator from Ohio to prison. The development comes amid active enforcement action by US prosecutors on cryptocurrency mixers due to their stated role in aiding money laundering, hacking and other illicit activities.
Helix founder is serving a 3-year prison sentence and forfeiture of more than $700 million
in Official releaseThe US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Larry Harmon, founder and operator of cryptocurrency mixer Helix, has received a three-year prison sentence.
Larry Harmon pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering in 2021, after being indicted for his role in operating Helix, which was used to launder 354,468 bitcoins, worth more than $300 million, in drug trafficking proceeds. The developer from Ohio also ran a darknet search engine called Grams which allowed users to access contraband items including hacking tools, fake documents, hard drugs, etc.
Grams operates in conjunction with Helix on the dark web, with both apps being used mostly for drug sales, a percentage of which is funneled to Harmon as a commission and operating fee. Harmon ran Helix from 2014 to 2017, and voluntarily shut down the cryptocurrency mixing service before his arrest in 2020, the Justice Department said.
In a ruling issued on November 15, US Judge Beryl Howell of the District of Columbia sentenced Larry Harmon to three years in prison, plus an additional three years of supervised release.
The prosecution had initially sought a six-year prison sentence for the 41-year-old defendant, however, Harmon’s cooperation with law enforcement as seen in his testimony in the trial of Roman Sterlinggov, operator of the Bitcoin Fog cryptocurrency mixer, coupled with ” Early Detection Termination of the Helix mixer years before his arrest earned him some credit with the judge.
In addition to the prison sentence, the convicted cryptocurrency mixer operator will lose the equivalent of US$311.14 million and physical and digital assets valued at more than US$400 million.
Cryptocurrency mixer operators under fire
Interestingly, Larry Harmon joins Sterlinghoff as the second cryptocurrency mixer operator to receive a prison sentence from US courts in the past week. The operator of Bitcoin Fog was sentenced on November 8 to 12.5 years in prison for operating the “longest-running Bitcoin laundering service,” which ran from 2011 to 2021.
However, all attention remains focused on the case of Tornado Cash co-founder and developer Roman Sturm, who is scheduled to face trial in April 2025.
Prosecutors brought four charges against Storm for his role in creating and operating Tornado Cash which they alleged facilitated more than $1 billion in money laundering. The US citizen will spend 45 years behind bars if convicted. Storm’s case remains one of public interest from the cryptocurrency community who believes the developer should not be prosecuted for using its software. These sentiments have been supported by massive donations to the Legal Defense Fund from prominent entities including Vitalik Buterin, Uniswap DAO, etc.
Total crypto market cap at $2.9 trillion on the daily chart: TradingView.com
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