An Ohio man guilty of Bitcoin laundering must forfeit over $400 million in assets
Image: The Verge
An Ohio man named Larry Dean Harmon will serve three years in prison and forfeit more than $400 million worth of cryptocurrency and other assets, the Department of Justice announced on Friday. Harmon was indicted in 2020 on money laundering conspiracy charges related to Helix, a darkweb cryptocurrency “mixer” service he ran.
Also known as crypto “tumbling,” services like Helix are designed to hide cryptocurrency transactions — often for illegal drugs — and the identity of people involved. From 2014 to 2017, Harmon processed more than 350,000 Bitcoin (about $311 million USD at the time) in such transactions, according to the DOJ’s announcement.
Harmon, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering in August 2021, will be on...