A millennial surrenders a bitcoin sum worth $210 million to the Feds

• After operating a cryptocurrency laundering site on the darknet, a millennial from Ohio is giving up more than $200 million in Bitcoin to federal authorities. Larry Dean Harmon, 38, acknowledged on the record for running the Helix website from 2014 to 2017
• The Bitcoin Harmon laundered was also linked to illegal narcotics trafficking, according to Harmon. As part of his guilty plea, Harmon will lose 4,400 Bitcoin valued at more than $200 million
• The agency has disrupted these deadly criminal enterprises’ illegal money laundering operations by holding Harmon responsible

After operating a cryptocurrency laundering site on the darknet, a millennial from Ohio is giving up more than $200 million in Bitcoin to federal authorities. Larry Dean Harmon, 38, acknowledged on the record for running the Helix website from 2014 to 2017. Harmon is said to have provided Helix services to darknet users who wanted to keep their transactions hidden from police enforcement. Harmon acknowledged assisting in the laundering of 350,000 Bitcoin, which at the time of the transactions was valued more than $300 million. 

The Bitcoin Harmon laundered was also linked to illegal narcotics trafficking, according to Harmon. As part of his guilty plea, Harmon will lose 4,400 Bitcoin valued at more than $200 million. According to a report by the US Department of Justice, he faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail. Steven M. D’Antuono, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, offers more information on Harmon’s plea. Harmon acknowledged working with darknet merchants to launder Bitcoin obtained from drug trafficking and other criminal operations. The FBI’s resolve to penetrate and shut down cryptocurrency money-laundering networks that fund cyber-criminal businesses is demonstrated by today’s guilty plea. The 350,000 laundered Bitcoins are now worth almost $17 billion.

The agency has disrupted these deadly criminal enterprises’ illegal money laundering operations by holding Harmon responsible. The Justice Department will continue to take enforcement actions, in collaboration with our law enforcement and regulatory partners, to identify and impede those who use illegal means for financial gain, as well as those who use the Darknet to facilitate and obscure their criminal conduct, as said by Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. Harmon confessed that he worked with Darknet merchants to launder bitcoin earned via drug trafficking and other illicit activities, as stated Assistant Director in Charge Steven M. D’Antuono of the FBI’s Washington Field Office. The FBI’s dedication to infiltrating and shutting down cryptocurrency money-laundering networks that enable cyber-criminal businesses is demonstrated by today’s guilty plea.

Ritika Sharma

With a background in journalism, Ritika Sharma has worked with many reputed media firms focusing on general news such as politics and crime. She joined The Coin Republic as a reporter for crypto, and found a great passion for cryptocurrency, Web3, NFTs and other digital assets. She spends a lot of time researching and delving deeper into these concepts around the clock, and is a strong advocate for women in STEM.