Former exchange owner sentenced to prison in the US for money laundering with crypto

The defendant bought bitcoins on official exchanges, laundered them, and resold them to drug dealers

04.03.2022 - 15:05

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What’s new? The District Court of Michigan has sentenced Christopher Boden, the former owner of the exchange The Geek Group, to 30 months in prison and a $75 000 fine for laundering money through an illegal business. Boden and two of his associates bought cryptocurrency from licensed exchanges, laundered it, and then resold it to their customers, who included drug dealers.

Michigan District Court ruling

What are the details of the case? An undercover agent was infiltrated into The Geek Group during the investigation. Boden personally ordered the agent to collect $500 000 from the debtor and asked him to use violence if “necessary,” which was the basis for his arrest. During the hearing, the defendant admitted to “mixed” bitcoins to make them harder for money-laundering regulators to trace.

At trial, the former director of the exchange fully pleaded guilty to running an unlicensed business, money laundering, and tax evasion. Boden’s partners, Daniel Reynold DeJager and Leesa Beth Vogt also pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 10 months in prison and four years probation.

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