21-Year-Old Trader Prosecuted Over Bitcoin Money Laundering
A 21-year-old bitcoin dealer from California is being prosecuted for allegedly committing numerous counts of illegal money transmission and money laundering.
According to an announcement from the Department of Justice in the Southern District of California, Jacob Burrell Campos was ordered to be held without bail at a hearing on Friday in connection to the charges. Based on a court filing against him entered on Aug. 8 and unsealed over the weekend, the prosecutors alleged that, from January 2015 to April 2016, Burrell sold about $750,000 worth of bitcoin to 900 individuals in the U.S. via his bitcoin exchange service.
The document said Burrell had not registered the exchange as a licensed money transmitter and intentionally failed to implement anti-money laundering measures. As such, he was accused of one count of illegal money transmission and one count of money laundering.
Further, the prosecutors said in order to fund his "illegal" bitcoin exchange, Burrell committed a total 28 counts of international money laundering. From February 2015 to February 2016, Burrell allegedly wired at least $900,000 in 30 transactions from his bank accounts in the U.S. to Hong Kong-based crypto exchange Bitfinex to buy bitcoin.
