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A New York man has been charged with laundering $2.3 million in a cash-to-Bitcoin scheme while openly gloating about it on social media.
In New York, a man has been accused of operating a cash-to-Bitcoin money laundering scam. The case demonstrates, among other things, law enforcement’s anti-crypto bias.
Caught because of bragging
A 42-year-old man named Thomas Spieker was indicted for allegedly conducting a “cash-to-Bitcoin” money laundering enterprise in New York, according to a recent Bloomberg story.
The man was allegedly bragging about his exploits on social media, assuring his clients that they could remain anonymous.
Spieker had been looking on Google for ways to launder money with Bitcoin while bragging to pals about his clientele, which include persons who conduct credit card scams, one of whom was a ketamine dealer.
Spieker’s clients were also accused of a variety of offenses, including running a dark web illegal drug bazaar.
The case “shows us how emerging technology like cryptocurrency can become important drivers of a wide spectrum of criminal behavior that can easily transcend the globe,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.
Bitcoin has a whole history of fraud
While it is obvious that Bitcoin, like other cryptocurrencies, can be used for illegal purposes, DA Bragg’s assertion seems a little far-fetched. To begin with, the entire operation was apparently valued at $2.3 million, which, while significant for a regular individual, does not equate to a large number in the criminal world.
Let’s take a step back and look at how functioning financial institutions have been consistently proven to house cash for convicted criminals, drug lords, murders, and other criminals.
We reported a few years ago that a document leak confirmed major banks had enabled almost $2 trillion in dirty money over a number of years.
Credit Suisse was accused of operating hundreds of accounts belonging to alleged criminals, according to documents released in February of this year. Of course, this has yet to be established, but the fact that an inquiry is going should be enough to raise the required red flags.
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Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while pursuing his post-graduation major in blockchain development. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing, along with coding. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing skills, and a reliable craft at explaining the concepts such as blockchain programming, languages and token minting. He also frequently shares technical details and performance indicators of ICOs and IDOs.
