From securityaffairs.co
Larry Dean Harmon (36), from Akron, Ohio, was charged with laundering more than $310 million worth of Bitcoin while he was operating a Darknet-based cryptocurrency laundering service between 2014 and 2017.
According to three-count indictment unsealed on February 11 in the District of Columbia, the man was charged with money laundering conspiracy, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and conducting money transmission without a D.C. license.
Harmon operated the Helix mixer service from 2014 to 2017. this means that its customers were paying a fee to send Bitcoin to designated recipients hiding the source of the transactions.
“According to the indictment, Harmon operated Helix from 2014 to 2017. Helix functioned as a bitcoin “mixer” or “tumbler,” allowing customers, for a fee, to send bitcoin to designated recipients in a manner that was designed to conceal the source or owner of the bitcoin.” reads the press release published by DoJ. “Helix was linked to and associated with “Grams,” a Darknet search engine also run by Harmon. Harmon advertised Helix to customers on the Darknet as a way to conceal transactions from law enforcement.”