49-year-old peer-to-peer crypto dealer, Hugo Sergio Mejia, has agreed to plead responsible to prices of cash laundering and working an unlicensed c
49-year-old peer-to-peer crypto dealer, Hugo Sergio Mejia, has agreed to plead responsible to prices of cash laundering and working an unlicensed cash transmitting enterprise.
The U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace accuses Mejia of utilizing a set of restricted legal responsibility firms to hide the true nature of his operations whereas exchanging money for Bitcoins over a interval spanning greater than two years.
The grievance accuses Mejia of transferring funds between Bitcoin and U.S. {dollars} value no less than $13 million for purchasers from Could 2018 and September 2020 utilizing his firms Worldwide Safe Communications, World Safe Knowledge, and The HODL Group.
In response to the proposed plea settlement, Mejia negotiated with a consumer who was cooperating with legislation enforcement to trade Bitcoin for tens of 1000’s of {dollars} in money between Could 2019 and March 2020.
Regardless of the consumer informing Mejia that his main buyer was an Australian methamphetamine purchaser throughout a gathering in March 2020, Meija was prepared to proceed with the transaction. The grievance states Mejia carried out transactions value greater than 1 / 4 of one million {dollars} for the consumer:
“Mejia and the consumer who was working with legislation enforcement performed 5 Bitcoin-cash transactions that cumulatively exceeded $250,000, the plea settlement states.”
The consumer performed no less than 5 transactions value greater than $250,00Zero in complete.
As a part of his plea deal, Mejia has agreed to forfeit virtually $234,00Zero in money and roughly $95,500 in cryptocurrency and metals that had been discovered at his California residences.
The deal additionally mandates that any longer, Meija will “keep, at most, one digital foreign money pockets, and that one pockets shall be used for all private transactions, restricted to solely utilizing and possessing open public blockchain digital currencies and restricted from utilizing privacy-based blockchain digital currencies.”
Mejia was charged on Friday, Jan. 29, and is predicted to plead responsible to 1 rely of cash laundering and one rely of working an unlicensed cash trade which he didn’t register with the Treasury Division’s Monetary Crimes Enforcement Community (FinCEN).
Mejia is predicted to go earlier than a U.S. district courtroom in March and faces a most statutory sentence of 25 years behind bars in federal jail.