A bitcoin dealer and advocate in Arizona has been charged with working an illegal cash transmission enterprise.
Thomas Costanzo, who runs a bitcoin providers web site that gives gross sales for bitcoin mining tools and ATMs, was arrested in late April and initially charged with the illegal possession of a firearm, which resulted from a earlier conviction.
A brand new superseding indictment, unsealed this week, reveals that the federal government is urgent fees towards Costanzo associated to his digital currency actions. Costanzo was accused of exchanged $166,000 with undercover brokers between May 2015 and April 2017, funds that have been “represented by a law enforcement officer to be proceeds of specified unlawful activity”, in line with the indictment.
Court paperwork present that one other particular person, Peter Steinmetz, can also be being charged. Costanzo and Steinmetz have been every charged for operating an unlawful cash transmission enterprise. Costanzo was moreover charged with cash laundering and felony possession of a firearm.
In April, native and federal regulation enforcement officers raided Costanzo’s residence and later had him held following an preliminary listening to. Police information printed on the time confirmed that officers included bitcoin and digital currency-related objects of their warrant, suggesting on the time that they may press for fees past the gun-related one.
The courtroom case is the newest within the US to contain a bitcoin dealer or vendor who’s charged with illegal cash transmission. In some of these instances, undercover investigators would buy bitcoins from these focused within the sting operations.
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