A New York man was charged Friday with running a cryptocurrency money laundering fraud that he publicized on social media, boasting to clients that he could help them stay “completely off the radar.”
The man, a former party organizer, was accused with laundering $2.7 million in bitcoin and cash to aid numerous customers in concealing funds obtained through allegedly unlawful conduct.
The MDA characterizes the cash-to-bitcoin conversion as a “takedown” of a global bitcoin money laundering operation.
Utilization of Cryptocurrency to Finance Criminal Activity
Thomas Spieker, 42, and his friends, according to the MDA, used bitcoin to facilitate a number of illegal activities, including dark-web drug trades.
According to authorities, Spieker’s clients included dark net drug dealers selling ketamine, phoney Xanax, and other illicit narcotics in every state in the United States, a hacker, and a member of an Eastern European organised crime group.
According to the MDA, between January 2018 and August 2021, Spieker converted over $2.5 million in Bitcoin and over $380,000 in cryptocurrency into US dollars through the use of “a rotating set of accomplices” who opened bank and cryptocurrency exchange accounts to facilitate the laundering of “criminal proceeds.”
Are You Under The Radar? Almost
Spieker began doing Google searches for the keyword “bitcoin money laundering” in 2014 in response to a complaint and published a Facebook post offering his services to anybody seeking to remain completely unnoticed while engaging in illegal activity.
Spieker was released on his own recognizance after waiving his right to a jury trial. His legal lawyer, Richard Verchick, declined to comment. Six further individuals pleaded not guilty and were released on personal recognizance.
Spieker, who formerly worked at Goldman Sachs in equity research, has been a Bitcoin enthusiast since the cryptocurrency’s infancy.
The Man Known As DJ S!ck
He was featured in a Vice piece on his career as a DJ known as S!CK in 2014.
The Manhattan state court case “illustrates how emerging technologies such as bitcoin can become critical drivers of a broad spectrum of criminal behavior that can fast spread throughout the globe,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement Thursday.
Additionally, Spieker is accused with laundering $620,000 for a client suspected of being a member of an organized crime network in eastern Europe and $267,000 for the operator of an international romance hoax.
Disclaimer: These are the writer’s opinions and should not be considered investment advice. Readers should do their own research.
