Texas Drug Ring Sentenced for Laundering $50K Monthly in Cryptocurrency

Six members of a Texas-based drug ring have been sentenced for their roles in a dark web drug operation, which laundered up to $50,000 per month in cryptocurrency. The group, operating as “Loverbois,” sold nearly 12 kilograms of meth. They processed about 20 drug orders daily between July 2019 and December 2020. Sentences ranged from … Read more

Feds Seize $34 Million in Crypto From Unidentified Florida Man

On April 4, 2022, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of South Florida revealed that law enforcement seized $34 million in crypto assets from an unidentified man living in Florida. According to the DOJ, the man allegedly conducted more than 100,000 sales on darknet markets, selling online account information tied to … Read more

Legalized Theft: Police Seize $87,000 From Former Marine but Don’t Charge Him With a Crime

A recently published report that went viral across social media details how a former U.S. Marine, Stephen Lara, was pulled over by police and was suspected of being a drug trafficker. Police then searched Lara’s vehicle and subsequently took $87,000 in cash from a bag kept in Lara’s trunk. Lara, who also had a stack … Read more

The White House Just Blamed Bitcoin for America’s Opiate Crisis

The opioid epidemic is the new devil Bitcoin is being blamed for inflaming, to be added to the already long list of heinous crimes crypto is supposedly responsible for, like terrorism, money laundering, and trafficking. While it’s painfully clear that the U.S. dollar is a much more common tool for these unethical and illicit activities, … Read more

Le Roux Biographer: Cartel Boss Is the Most Credible Satoshi Yet

Paul Le Roux is a criminal kingpin turned criminal informant whose misdeeds have filled a book. The author of that tome is investigative journalist Evan Ratliff, whose rip-roaring tale has recently received a postscript: Le Roux may also be Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto. This week on the Humans of Bitcoin podcast, Ratliff expounded on that … Read more

Civil Forfeiture Is State-Sanctioned Theft

Ever since 1929, the FBI has shared annual crime statistics via the Uniform Crime Reporting Program. Each year, it breaks down criminal activity into such categories as homicide, weapons, human trafficking, and hate crime. One category that is noticeably absent from the report is civil asset forfeiture. In the eyes of the law, this is … Read more

Regulations Roundup: U.S. Govt. Pays $5.7 Million for Blockchain Analysis, Amit Bhardwaj’s Assets Seized

In recent regulatory news, a report published by Diar has found that U.S. government agencies have paid approximately $5.7 million USD to blockchain analysis contractors, India’s Enforcement Directorate has seized $5.9 Million worth of assets linked to the case of Amit Bhardwaj, and the Bank of International Settlements finds cryptocurrencies to “not, at this point, … Read more

Illegal Activity No Longer Dominant Use of Bitcoin: DEA Agent

A special agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has reportedly revealed that the use of bitcoin in illegal activities has shrunk to about 10 percent from 90 percent previously. This finding contradicts the popular perception of the cryptocurrency’s primary use. Also read: Yahoo! Japan Confirms Entrance Into the Crypto Space New Data From DEA … Read more

US Authorities Seize Over $20M in Crypto in Massive Darknet Crackdown

US authorities have revealed that their agents had been operating undercover on the Darknet for the past year. The massive operation uncovered the true identity of over fifty vendors on sites such as Silk Road, Alpha Bay, Hansa, Dream, and more. Over 35 people have already been arrested and goods worth over $23.6 million have been … Read more