Two men have pleaded guilty for conspiring to launder money using Bitcoin after selling marijuana on the dark web.
Connor Brooke and Aidan Curry, 25 and 23 respectively, gave their plea in federal court yesterday. The pair agreed to forfeit “tens of thousands of dollars worth of cash, cryptocurrency, and [computer hardware]” that was used to commit the crime, the Times of San Diego reports .
Brooke and Curry ran a series of dark web enterprises, one of which sold marijuana while the other allowed people to buy cryptocurrency for cash at a premium.
In a text message, Curry described the perpetrators’ cryptocurrency transfer business as “a currency exchange place for Bitcoin.” They went on to add that they advertised their business on a website that was the “equivalent to the Craigslist of Bitcoin.”
The report states that BayCoins had posted two solicitations for business, one featuring Curry’s details and the other featuring Brooke’s. The pair promised fast and easy Bitcoin transactions and enforced a “non-negotiable” transaction fee of 5 percent.
Even though BayCoins is said to have generated “sufficient profits,” how much the pair actually made though isn’t stated. It’s said that the perpetrators sold marijuana on various dark-web marketplaces, after receiving payment in cryptocurrency they sold the coins for additional profit through BayCoins, always for cash.
While the pair have already pleaded guilty, they will face sentencing early next year on January 6. They each face a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
Through using Bitcoin and cash the pair allegedly maintained some level of anonymity. It seems they were able to evade the authorities for some time, and what actually led to them being reprimanded isn’t immediately clear. However, their capture appears to be the result of an ongoing Homeland Security investigation.
“The investigation resulting in today’s guilty plea is an excellent example of the commitment and partnership between HSI [Homeland Security Investigations] and prosecutors to seek out individuals and criminal networks who try to conceal their illicit activities under the cloak of the Dark Web,” said Nick Annan agent in charge of HSI in San Diego.
I guess this is just another dark web cryptocurrency drug bust to add to the ever-growing list .
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Game of Thrones’ Bronn becomes Master of VeganCoin cryptocurrency (we shit you not)
Before you read this, beware there might be Game of Thrones spoilers in this piece.
The actor that played one of the more Machiavellian characters in the HBO series, Game of Thrones , is joining the advisory board of a vegan lifestyle oriented cryptocurrency.
Jerome Flynn, the actor that played “Bronn,” is joining an Israel-based cryptocurrency project called VeganNation, CoinDesk reports. The project plans to offer its own cryptocurrency token called VeganCoin.
It seems appropriate given that Bronn was appointed as Master of Coin to Bran the Broken on the TV show’s finale earlier this week. According to the report, Flynn has been vegetarian for the last 35 years and is an animal rights activist. He is also a patron of the UK’s Vegetarian Society.
VeganNation wants to build an ecosystem that will support vegans via a “100 percent cruelty-free” platform to exchange products and services.
Indeed, the vegans might have point when it comes to cruelty-free money. Back in 2016, the new £5 note in the UK was found to have been produced using animal fat .
That said, given that computing equipment will be need to deliver this ecosystem it’s likely it won’t ever be truly cruelty-free. An Investigation by Amnesty International found children as young as seven work to mine precious metals used in electronics, The Guardian reported .
With that in mind, VeganNation might be making promises it can’t quite deliver on.
US detains Bitcoin fraudster to prevent him from escaping to Canada
A Canadian man alleged to have conned an Oregonian woman out of $230,000 worth of Bitcoin is being held in prison so that he doesn’t flee the US to Canada.
US Attorney Quinn Harrington said they were concerned that the perpetrator would flee and then fight extradition. The accused, Karanjit Singh Khatkar, purportedly made two phone calls to his brother advising him to stay out of the US to avoid arrest, Oregon Live reports .
“[The] defendant told his brother to stay in Canada because he knows he can delay or avoid justice there,” Harrington said to the court.
In one of the phone calls, Khatkar reportedly told his brother to hold off coming to the United States; “it’s not going to be that bad, as long as you don’t come right now.” That said, he did later advise his brother to come should he receive a summons.
Given that indiscretion, it doesn’t look good for the brothers. Khatkar and his sibling are accused of stealing 23 Bitcoin, according to the report this was worth $140,000 at the time and could be worth over $250,000 today.
They stole the funds from a 60-year-old woman from Oregon by creating a fake Twitter account that impersonated a Bitcoin exchange. The victim was apparently tricked into contacting the fake Twitter account when seeking help to access her account.
The perpetrators then used her email address to gain access to her cryptocurrency account on the exchange they were impersonating.
According to the report, the court heard that the defendant shared the proceeds of the crime with his brother, who is now a co-defendant in the investigation.
Thing is, the defendant has family in Sacramento so could remain in the US pending trial. What’s more, he’s surrendered his travel documents so couldn’t legally enter Canada. Khatkar is allegedly also willing to pay a $50,000 bail bond to secure his release before his trial.
But alas, it was not granted and the defendant must remain in custody until trial next year in late January.
Despite the charges, Khatkar has pleaded not guilty.
The brothers’ scam is not particularly unique. Cryptocurrency scammers have been using Twitter to impersonate legitimate firms for years now .
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