An Ohio-based operator of the darknet cryptocurrency mixer has been sentenced to a three-year prison term after being found guilty of laundering over $300 million in Bitcoin BTC/USD.

What Happened: According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 41-year-old Larry Dean Harmon was the brains behind Helix, a darknet mixer that played a crucial role in laundering customers’ Bitcoin from 2014 to 2017. The platform became a preferred choice for online drug dealers looking to hide the trail of their illegal earnings.

The service processed about 354,468 Bitcoin, equivalent to around $311.14 million at the time of the transactions and more than $32.52 billion at current market rates

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On Aug. 18, 2021, Harmon admitted to conspiracy to commit money laundering. Besides his prison term, Harmon was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit over $400 million in seized cryptocurrencies, real estate, and other monetary assets.

Why It Matters: This case is part of a broader crackdown on darknet cryptocurrency mixers in recent years.

In 2022, Tornado Cash, arguably the most popular of all cryptocurrency mixers, was blacklisted by the Department of Treasury, making it illegal for U.S. citizens, residents, and companies to use.

Tornado Cash founders, Roman Storm, and Roman Semenov were indicted in 2023 for allegedly operating a cryptocurrency mixer that laundered more than $1 billion, including funds from the notorious North Korean cybercrime group Lazarus Group.

The darknet has been a hotbed for illicit activities, with cryptocurrencies often used as a medium for transactions. In a similar case, Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the online illegal drug marketplace Silk Road, has been serving a double life sentence since 2013.

Ulbricht awaits a pardon from President-elect Donald Trump, who promised to commute the former’s sentence if elected to power.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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