Arizona Bitcoin Trader Charged With Money Laundering
Thomas Costanzo, who runs a bitcoin services website that offers sales for bitcoin mining equipment and ATMs, was arrested in late April and initially charged with the unlawful possession of a firearm, which resulted from a previous conviction.
A new superseding indictment, unsealed this week, reveals that the government is pressing charges against Costanzo related to his digital currency activities. Costanzo was accused of exchanged $166,000 with undercover agents between May 2015 and April 2017, funds that were "represented by a law enforcement officer to be proceeds of specified unlawful activity", according to the indictment.
http://www.coindesk.com/arizona-bitcoin-trader-charged-money-laundering/
Thomas Costanzo, who runs a bitcoin services website that offers sales for bitcoin mining equipment and ATMs, was arrested in late April and initially charged with the unlawful possession of a firearm, which resulted from a previous conviction.
A new superseding indictment, unsealed this week, reveals that the government is pressing charges against Costanzo related to his digital currency activities. Costanzo was accused of exchanged $166,000 with undercover agents between May 2015 and April 2017, funds that were "represented by a law enforcement officer to be proceeds of specified unlawful activity", according to the indictment.
http://www.coindesk.com/arizona-bitcoin-trader-charged-money-laundering/
Well that escalated pretty quick.
I guess the US is really against cryptocurrency and the future for that matter. There has been a lot of negative response against the cryptocurrency industry in the US and that could be its downfall as there could be a possibility that the world will shift to cryptocurrency and those countries that embrace it will be the next leaders.
I don't think it shows the US is against cryptocurrency. He exchanged $166,000 with undercover agents who told him their funds were from unlawful activity. If he'd refused to exchange anything after they told him their funds were from unlawful activity he wouldn't have been arrested for his digital currency activities.
