Multiple Enforcement Actions Against Crypto Crimes, Order Issued In Billion-Dollar Bitcoin Lawsuit

Over the past 10 days, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has published six separate press releases providing details on enforcement actions involving cryptocurrencies. One press release announced that several Arizona residents had pleaded guilty and received prison sentences for their involvement in a conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and launder the proceeds. According to the press release, the defendants sold narcotics on the dark web and attempted to launder the proceeds by selling cryptocurrency through peer-to-peer exchangers. Another press release provided details on the sentencing of a dark market vendor who forfeited "millions of dollars in digital or crypto currency including Bitcoins, Stratis, Ethereum [and] 2350 Monero." The press release noted that the forfeited assets included cryptocurrencies held in accounts at U.S.-based exchanges.