Helix 營運商 Larry Dean Harmon 因比特幣洗錢金額超過 3 億美元而被判處 3 年監禁

據美國司法部稱，Larry 使用 Helix 幫助線上毒販洗錢，處理了超過 350,000 個比特幣

Larry Dean Harmon, the operator of the crypto-currency mixing service Helix, was sentenced Friday to three years in prison for laundering over $300 million in Bitcoin, primarily for darknet drug markets.

加密貨幣混合服務 Helix 的營運商 Larry Dean Harmon 週五因主要針對暗網毒品市場的比特幣洗錢超過 3 億美元而被判處三年監禁。

Harmon was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, D.C., more than three years after he pleaded guilty to the charges in a federal court in the District.

哈蒙在華盛頓特區的聯邦法院認罪三年多後，被美國地方法官貝裡爾·豪厄爾判刑。

Harmon used Helix to help online drug dealers launder their illicit proceeds, processing at least 354,468 Bitcoin from 2014 to 2017, according to the Justice Department. A portion of the transactions were paid to Harmon as commissions for running Helix.

據司法部稱，哈蒙利用 Helix 幫助線上毒販洗錢，從 2014 年到 2017 年處理了至少 354,468 比特幣。部分交易作為運行 Helix 的佣金支付給 Harmon。

Harmon also established an Application Program Interface (API) and tailored some of Helix’s features, enabling darknet markets to incorporate Helix directly into their Bitcoin withdrawal systems, the government said. He also connected Helix to the darknet search engine, Grams, which increased the popularity of the mixing service in multiple darknet markets, according to the government.

政府表示，Harmon 還建立了應用程式介面 (API) 並客製化了 Helix 的一些功能，使暗網市場能夠將 Helix 直接納入其比特幣提款系統。據政府稱，他還將 Helix 連接到了暗網搜尋引擎 Grams，這提高了混合服務在多個暗網市場的受歡迎程度。

Harmon was facing a maximum possible sentence of 20 years in prison, and prosecutors had asked for at least 75 months in prison. But Howell ultimately sentenced Harmon to 36 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Harmon was also ordered to pay $311 million in cash and surrender seized cryptocurrencies, real estate and monetary assets valued at over $400 million.

哈蒙面臨最高 20 年監禁，檢察官要求至少 75 個月監禁。但豪厄爾最終判處哈蒙 36 個月監禁，隨後監管釋放三年。哈蒙還被命令支付 3.11 億美元現金，並交出價值超過 4 億美元的扣押加密貨幣、房地產和貨幣資產。

Harmon closed Helix two years before he was apprehended, and the government said he had already begun to reform his conduct even before the case was presented to the court.

哈蒙在被捕前兩年關閉了 Helix，政府表示，甚至在案件提交法庭之前，他就已經開始改變自己的行為。

“Specifically, Harmon closed Helix, began cooperating with law enforcement, and took steps to divest himself of the proceeds of his crimes,” prosecutors said in a sentencing memo.

檢察官在量刑備忘錄中表示：“具體來說，哈蒙關閉了 Helix，開始與執法部門合作，並採取措施剝離自己的犯罪所得。”

“Harmon’s sentence reflects his substantial assistance in the investigation and prosecution of the operators of Bitcoin Fog, which was a large and sophisticated darknet money laundering service.”

“哈蒙的判決反映了他在調查和起訴比特幣霧運營商方面提供的大力協助，比特幣霧是一個大型而復雜的暗網洗錢服務。”

Harmon’s lighter sentence is also the latest example of how crypto-currency defendants are receiving lighter sentences for substantial assistance in other cases.

哈蒙較輕的判決也是加密貨幣被告在其他案件中因提供實質幫助而獲得較輕判決的最新例子。

In November, Roman Sterlingov, the operator of Bitcoin Fog, was sentenced to 12.5 years in prison after Harmon testified against him at trial. Prosecutors had initially sought a sentence of 20 years for Sterlingov.

11 月，比特幣霧運營商羅曼·斯特林戈夫 (Roman Sterlingov) 在哈蒙出庭作證後被判處 12.5 年監禁。檢察官最初尋求對斯特林戈夫判處 20 年徒刑。

Sterlingov was convicted by a jury in June of conspiracy to launder money and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. Prosecutors said Bitcoin Fog laundered over $1.2 billion in crypto-currency for darknet drug markets.

斯特林戈夫六月被陪審團判定犯有共謀洗錢和經營未經許可的資金傳輸業務的罪名。檢察官表示，Bitcoin Fog 為暗網毒品市場洗錢了超過 12 億美元的加密貨幣。

Harmon testified at Sterlingov’s trial that he met with Sterlingov in 2016 to discuss merging their two crypto-currency mixing services. Harmon said he ultimately decided against merging the services because he was concerned about the large amounts of money being laundered through Bitcoin Fog.

哈蒙在斯特林戈夫的審判中作證說，他於 2016 年與斯特林戈夫會面，討論合併他們的兩種加密貨幣混合服務。哈蒙表示，他最終決定不合併這些服務，因為他擔心透過比特幣霧洗掉大量資金。

Harmon also testified that he closed Helix in 2015 after learning that law enforcement was investigating the service. He said he later began cooperating with the government and provided investigators with information about Bitcoin Fog.

哈蒙還作證說，在得知執法部門正在調查 Helix 服務後，他於 2015 年關閉了該服務。他說，他後來開始與政府合作，並向調查人員提供有關比特幣霧的資訊。

Harmon’s testimony was a key piece of evidence in the government’s case against Sterlingov, and prosecutors said it helped them secure the conviction.

哈蒙的證詞是政府針對斯特林戈夫案件的關鍵證據，檢察官表示這有助於他們定罪。

Agents of the Internal Revenue Service Cyber Crime Unit and the FBI Washington Field Office investigated the case with the support of the Belize Ministry of the Attorney General and the Belize Police Department, coordinated through the U.S. Embassy Belmopan. The investigation also included the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, which previously fined Harmon $60 million.

美國國稅局網路犯罪部門和聯邦調查局華盛頓外地辦事處的特工在伯利茲總檢察長部和伯利茲警察局的支持下調查了此案，並透過美國大使館貝爾莫潘進行協調。調查還包括金融犯罪執法網絡，該網絡先前對 Harmon 處以 6000 萬美元的罰款。