The Department of Justice reported that Larry Dean Harmon (38, of Akron, Ohio) "agreed to the forfeiture of more than 4,400 bitcoin, valued at more than $200 million at today's prices, and other seized properties that were involved in the money laundering conspiracy. Harmon will be sentenced at a date to be determined and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction, a term of supervised release of not more than three years, and mandatory restitution." The August 18, 2021 report entitled "Ohio Resident Pleads Guilty to Operating Darknet-Based Bitcoin 'Mixer' That Laundered Over $300 Million" included these comments about to court documents, that Harmon:
.admitted that he 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.
Helix was linked to and associated with "Grams," a Darknet search engine also run by Harmon.
Harmon advertised Helix to customers on the Darknet to conceal transactions from law enforcement.
Surely we will see more Darknet crime in the future, and glad that Harmon was caught!
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