Roman Sterlingov has been discovered responsible by a jury on all expenses associated to the Bitcoin Fog coin mixer, in line with a US Division of Justice press launch.
Sterlingov was charged with responsible of conspiracy, sting cash laundering, working an unlicensed money-transmitting enterprise, and violations of the DC Cash Transmitters Act. Collectively, the costs carry a most of fifty years in jail.
Bitcoin Fog was crypto mixer or tumbler that allowed customers to cover their transaction trails on the blockchain. The service operated between October 2011 and April 2021 and moved greater than 1.2 million BTC throughout its lifetime. The quantity was value greater than $400 million on the time of the transactions however is value over $85 billion at present costs.
Based mostly on the federal government’s evaluation of blockchain exercise and data from crypto exchanges, Sterlingov obtained tens of millions of {dollars} in commissions from working the service.
Sterlingov plans to attraction
Separate accounts of the trial from Bloomberg described a partial deal with the service’s creation. Prosecutors defined how Sterlingov paid for Bitcoin Fog’s area title and mentioned he appeared to check the service with small transactions earlier than it started to function publicly.
Sterlingov denied that he operated the service in his testimony. He as an alternative claimed that he created Bitcoin Fog’s area title on behalf of a consumer whereas freelancing for a advertising and net agency. He admitted to utilizing Bitcoin Fog however didn’t acquire charges from the service.
His lawyer, Tom Ekeland, added that no eyewitness accounts or server logs present proof that his consumer operated the service.
Sterlingov and Ekeland plan to attraction the consequence. In a press release to Bloomberg, Ekeland referred to as the decision “disappointing” and described the present stage of proceedings because the “midway level.”
In February, the case took a notable flip when prosecutors introduced the beforehand convicted Bitfinex hacker Ilya Lichtenstein as a witness in opposition to Sterlingov. Lichtenstein testified that he didn’t know or talk with Sterlingov instantly and mentioned he solely minimally used Bitcoin Fog.
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