News & Analysis as of

Bitcoin Financial Crimes

Troutman Pepper Locke

Troutman Pepper Locke Weekly Consumer Financial Services Newsletter – May 2025

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To keep you informed of recent activities, below are several of the most significant federal and state events that have influenced the Consumer Financial Services industry over the past week....more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Establishment of the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and United States Digital Asset Stockpile

The Secretary of the Treasury shall establish an office to administer and maintain control of custodial accounts collectively known as the “United States Digital Asset Stockpile,” capitalized with all digital assets owned by...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

First Stand-Alone Crypto Tax Fraud Case Leads to Guilty Plea

On September 12, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) announced that Frank Richard Ahlgren III pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return underreporting gains from selling $3.7 million in Bitcoin. As we discussed...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

PA Department of Banking and Securities: Virtual Currency is “Money”

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On April 20, 2024, the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities (“DoBS”) issued a policy statement (“Policy Statement”) to “clarify” that the Department’s interpretation of the term “money” in the Pennsylvania Money...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

Blockchain Analysis and Related Expert Testimony Admissible In Criminal Trial

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It is challenging for law enforcement to track down and trace illicit activities conducted through digital currencies. The process can be very time- and resource-intensive. Further, securing charges and arrests, and...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

Crypto Couple Plead Guilty to Money Laundering Conspiracy

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In February 2022, we blogged on the seizure of a record $3.6 billion in stolen Bitcoin (“BTC”) and an accompanying criminal complaint, charging husband and wife Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein and Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan with...more

Robinson+Cole Data Privacy + Security Insider

Privacy Tip #316 – Dabbling in Crypto? Be Wary of Rug Pulls

It’s very hard to keep up with digital and crypto lingo. But if you are dabbling in crypto, you need to know about rug pulls. What is a rug pull you ask? According to blogger Migi Delfin, “A rug pull is a fraud scheme that...more

The Volkov Law Group

What to Know About the DOJ’s National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team

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In early October, U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced the creation of the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (“NCET”).  The NCET will handle the Department’s investigations...more

Jenner & Block

United States Department of Justice Announces National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team and Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative

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Ransomware attacks have become increasingly common and, according to the NSA Director, are projected to continue growing in prevalence. Amidst the rise in ransomware attacks, last week the United States Department of Justice...more

Vinson & Elkins LLP

Founder and Operator of Bitcoin “Mixer” Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering Conspiracy

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Larry Dean Harmon, the founder and operator of Helix, a darknet-based cryptocurrency “mixer” or “tumbler,” recently admitted that Helix partnered with darknet marketplaces to provide bitcoin money laundering services for...more

Cole Schotz

Digital Assets And Financial Crimes Enforcement Network Rulings

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In recent months notable investors, wealth managers, and banks have begun to explore (if they were not already invested in) bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Many banks are beginning to offer cryptocurrency investment...more

Robinson+Cole Data Privacy + Security Insider

Privacy Tip #271 – Getting In on the Cryptocurrency Frenzy? Assess Risk of Theft First

Oh, if I had just bought that Bitcoin when I first thought about it a decade ago…I might risk a flight to Fiji right now, which is on my bucket list, even in the midst of the pandemic. Alas, I didn’t, because I assessed the...more

Morgan Lewis

What 2021 Has in Store for Stablecoin

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The year 2020 won’t soon be forgotten. Despite the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic presented on a global scale, 2020 ushered in new ways of thinking about stablecoin, a type of cryptocurrency that attempts to peg its...more

Polsinelli

John McAfee Meet Agent Smith

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 Agent Smith in the Matrix described humans as a “virus.  A disease, a cancer of this planet. You are a plague, and we are the cure.” While not alleging all human beings are a virus, the U.S. government views John McAfee, the...more

Polsinelli

ASIC Bans Former BitConnect Front-man

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John Louis Anthony Bigatton will not be providing financial services in Australia and likely not anywhere else, anytime soon. On Thursday, September 3, 2020, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (“ASIC”)...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

Sorry, No Picture Of George Or Abe, But Still Money

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Recently, the United States District Court of the District of Columbia refused to dismiss money laundering charges against a defendant who was allegedly engaged in a darknet cryptocurrency scheme. See U.S. v. Harmon, Case...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

Two Chinese Nationals Charged with Money Laundering Over $100 Million in Cryptocurrency for North Korea

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Case Sheds Light on Latest Methods to Evade Detection: “Peeling” Chains - On March 2, the U.S. government sanctioned and indicted two Chinese nationals for helping North Korea launder nearly $100 million in stolen...more

Polsinelli

BitBlog Bi-Weekly Update - March 2020

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Strikeout for Bitcoin ETF -   Another ETF bites the dust. On February 26th the SEC rejected the application of NYSE Acre for the approval of an exchange traded fund sponsored by the New York firm of Wilshire Phoenix to...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

IRS CI Highlights International Efforts to Tackle Cryptocurrency Abuse, Money Laundering and Tax Evasion

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ABA Tax Fraud Panel to Discuss IRS CI and Crypto Criminals - The Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS CI) has made it clear that it is focusing on the abuse of digital currencies to further tax evasion,...more

Burr & Forman

SEC Investor Alert on Crypto Trading Websites

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The SEC recently issued an investor alert warning about crypto advisory and trading websites. The alert cautions investors to be especially wary of web-based crypto-currency sites with any...more

Foodman CPAs & Advisors

The “J5” is on to Cryptocurrencies

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issued a “call to action” for countries to do more to tackle enablers of tax crimes. The result of this “call to action” was the establishment of an...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

FinCEN Director Addresses Virtual Currency and Touts Regulatory Leadership and Value of SAR Filings

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Address Emphasizes Role of SARs in Fighting Illegal Activity, Including Drug Dealing Fueling the Opioid Crisis - Kenneth Blanco, the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), discussed last week...more

The Volkov Law Group

Cryptocurrency Compliance: The Importance of Internal Investigations

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For those still new to the sector, Coinbase has established itself as one of (if not the) most prominent cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the U.S. Coinbase, to the delight of compliance officers everywhere, has been...more

A&O Shearman

UK Financial Conduct Authority Sets out Good Practice for Handling Financial Crime Risks from Crypto-Assets

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The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published a "Dear CEO" letter to U.K. authorized banks, setting out its views on best practice that banks should adopt for handling the financial crime risks that may be posed by...more

Proskauer - Blockchain and the Law

Income, from Whatever Exchange, Mine, or Fork Derived: The Basics of U.S. Cryptocurrency Taxation

In this first of (we hope) many posts on the interesting and myriad tax issues arising in the world of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, we focus on the very basic U.S. federal income tax consequences of...more

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