Helix 运营商拉里·迪恩·哈蒙 (Larry Dean Harmon) 因比特币洗钱金额超过 3 亿美元而被判处 3 年监禁

据美国司法部称，Larry 使用 Helix 帮助在线毒贩洗钱，处理了超过 350000 个比特币

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.

加密货币混合服务 Helix 的运营商拉里·迪恩·哈蒙 (Larry Dean Harmon) 周五因主要针对暗网毒品市场的比特币洗钱超过 3 亿美元而被判处三年监禁。

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.

哈蒙在华盛顿特区的联邦法院认罪三年多后，被美国地方法官贝里尔·豪厄尔判刑。

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.

据司法部称，哈蒙利用 Helix 帮助在线毒贩洗钱，从 2014 年到 2017 年处理了至少 354,468 比特币。部分交易作为运行 Helix 的佣金支付给 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 还建立了应用程序编程接口 (API) 并定制了 Helix 的一些功能，使暗网市场能够将 Helix 直接纳入其比特币提款系统。据政府称，他还将 Helix 连接到了暗网搜索引擎 Grams，这提高了混合服务在多个暗网市场的受欢迎程度。

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.

哈蒙面临最高 20 年监禁，检察官要求至少 75 个月监禁。但豪厄尔最终判处哈蒙 36 个月监禁，随后监管释放三年。哈蒙还被责令支付 3.11 亿美元现金，并交出价值超过 4 亿美元的扣押加密货币、房地产和货币资产。

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.

哈蒙在被捕前两年关闭了 Helix，政府表示，甚至在案件提交法庭之前，他就已经开始改变自己的行为。

“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.

检察官在量刑备忘录中表示：“具体来说，哈蒙关闭了 Helix，开始与执法部门合作，并采取措施剥离自己的犯罪所得。”

“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.”

“哈蒙的判决反映了他在调查和起诉比特币雾运营商方面提供的大力协助，比特币雾是一个大型而复杂的暗网洗钱服务。”

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

哈蒙的较轻判决也是加密货币被告在其他案件中因提供实质性帮助而获得较轻判决的最新例子。

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，比特币雾运营商罗曼·斯特林戈夫 (Roman Sterlingov) 在哈蒙出庭作证后被判处 12.5 年监禁。检察官最初寻求对斯特林戈夫判处 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.

斯特林戈夫六月份被陪审团判定犯有共谋洗钱和经营未经许可的资金传输业务的罪名。检察官表示，Bitcoin Fog 为暗网毒品市场洗钱了超过 12 亿美元的加密货币。

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审判中作证说，他于 2016 年与斯特林戈夫会面，讨论合并他们的两种加密货币混合服务。哈蒙表示，他最终决定不合并这些服务，因为他担心通过比特币雾洗掉大量资金。

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.

哈蒙还作证说，在得知执法部门正在调查 Helix 服务后，他于 2015 年关闭了该服务。他说，他后来开始与政府合作，并向调查人员提供有关比特币雾的信息。

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.

哈蒙的证词是政府针对斯特林戈夫案件的关键证据，检察官表示这有助于他们定罪。

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.

美国国税局网络犯罪部门和联邦调查局华盛顿外地办事处的特工在伯利兹总检察长部和伯利兹警察局的支持下调查了此案，并通过美国大使馆贝尔莫潘进行协调。调查还包括金融犯罪执法网络，该网络此前对 Harmon 处以 6000 万美元的罚款。