- Trung Nguyen will get 6 years in jail for unauthorized Bitcoin.
- Laundered over $1M for scammers and drug sellers by way of Nationwide Merchandising.
- Omitted FinCEN registration, violated anti-money laundering legal guidelines.
A jury discovered Trung Nguyen, 48, of Danvers, responsible of operating an unlicensed Bitcoin enterprise and sentenced him to 6 years in jail for turning money into Bitcoins. The sentencing order from Decide Richard G. Stearns requires 5 years in jail, three years on supervised launch and forfeiture of $1,513,000.04. From 2017 to 2020, Nguyen’s merchandising machine firm allowed scammers and a drug supplier to do a number of unlawful transactions.
Nguyen’s trial, referred to as DCS420, was accomplished in 5 days earlier than he was discovered responsible in November 2024. The jury discovered that the defendant had dedicated one crime of unlicensed cash enterprise and one other of cash laundering.On the cash fraud accusation, he was acquitted. In line with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth B. Kosto and Benjamin A. Saltzman, Nguyen deliberately violated federal rules.
Unlicensed Bitcoin Operation Uncovered
Nguyen carried out his plan by Nationwide Merchandising, LLC, making it seem as knowledgeable merchandising machine operation to banks and authorities officers. In reality, he took money from purchasers, together with a meth supplier and exchanged it for Bitcoin at a price. In 2018, Nguyen obtained 2 hundred fifty thousand {dollars} in 10 completely different transactions from the narcotics supplier. From 2019 to 2020, he collected cash from victims of romance scams in Missouri, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, instructing them to trade money for Bitcoin that he then despatched to abroad fraudsters.
Federal legislation treats digital forex exchangers as cash transmitters and requires them to register with FinCEN, a division of the Division of Treasury. The corporate didn’t register as a cash companies enterprise and it additionally didn’t file required studies for transactions that exceeded $10,000. “Nguyen was conscious of receiving unlawful funds and helped facilitate crime,” mentioned Performing U.S. Lawyer Joshua S. Levy.
To cover from authorities, Nguyen relied on encrypted messaging and software program that hid his Bitcoin transactions. He divided deposits above $10,000 into varied limits and unfold them over a number of days or throughout completely different branches to maintain his actions hidden. Nguyen adopted the paid course by organising a faux enterprise entrance, leaving out references to Bitcoin and making up provider names.
Legislation Enforcement Takes Robust Motion
The scheme was revealed by an investigation carried out by Homeland Safety Investigations, the IRS Prison Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Michael J. Krol, Particular Agent in Cost of Homeland Safety Investigations in New England, mentioned that by evading financial institution guidelines, the suspect directed unlawful cash into the common economic system. The probe revealed that Nguyen knowingly dealt with cash from drug sellers and rip-off victims on behalf of his purchasers concerned in legal acts.
The federal government’s actions in opposition to Nguyen additional show its dedication to stopping cryptocurrency crimes. The Division of Justice is actively focusing on companies that switch funds illegally, a lot of which connect with fraud and drug trafficking. Lately, a Texas man laundered over $1 million in fraud funds utilizing the same technique and obtained a jail sentence.