In an interesting development, the US courts have sentenced a crypto mixer operator from Ohio to jail. This development comes amidst active enforcement actions by US prosecutors on crypto mixers due to their reported role in aiding money laundering, hacks, and other illicit activities.
Helix Founder To Serve 3-Year Prison Sentence, Forfeit Over $700 Million
In an official release, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Larry Harmon, founder and operator of crypto mixer Helix, has received a three-year jail sentence.
Larry Harmon pled guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering back in 2021, following an indictment in his role for operating Helix which was used to launder 354,468 Bitcoin, valued at over $300 million, in proceeds of drug trafficking. The developer from Ohio also ran a darknet search engine called Grams which allowed users access to contraband items including hacking tools, fake documents, hard drugs, etc.
Grams operated in conjunction with Helix on the darknet with both applications mostly being used for drug sales, a percentage of which was remitted to Harmon as commission and operating fees. The DOJ stated that Harmon ran Helix from 2014-2017, shutting the crypto mixer service voluntarily before his arrest in 2020.
In a court ruling on November 15, US Judge Beryl Howell of the District of Columbia sentenced Larry Harmon to three years in prison, with an additional three years of supervised release.
Prosecutors had initially sought a six-year prison term for the 41-year-old defendant, however, Harmon’s cooperation with law enforcement as seen in his testimony in the trial of Roman Sterlingov, operator of crypto mixer Bitcoin Fog, coupled with the “early” termination of the Helix mixer years before his arrest earned him some credit with the Judge.
In addition to the given prison sentence, the convicted crypto mixer operator is to forfeit the cash equivalent of $311.14 million and physical and digital assets valued at over $400 million.
Crypto Mixer Operators Under Fire
Interestingly, Larry Harmon joins Sterlingov as the second crypto mixer operator to receive a prison sentence from US courts in the past week. The Bitcoin Fog operator was ordered on November 8 to serve 12.5 years in jail for operating the “longest-running Bitcoin laundering service” which ran from 2011 to 2021.
However, all attention remains on the case of Tornado Cash co-founder and developer Roman Storm who is set to face trial in April 2025.
Prosecutors have launched four charges against Storm for his role in creating and operating Tornado Cash which they claimed has facilitated over $1 billion in money laundering. The US citizen will spend 45 years behind bars if convicted. Storm’s case remains one of public interest from the crypto community who believe a developer should not be prosecuted for the use of his software. These sentiments have been backed by massive donations towards a legal defense fund from prominent entities including Vitalik Buterin, the Uniswap DAO, etc.
