Two Charged for Operating a Cryptocurrency Exchange Business
In March 2021, a grand jury returned a 20-count indictment charging Ian Freeman, Colleen Fordham, Renee Spinella, Andrew Spinella, “Nobody” (formerly Richard Paul), and Aria DiMezzo with an assortment of financial crimes related to the operation of a “virtual currency exchange business in violation of federal anti-money laundering laws and regulations, including those requiring money transmitting businesses to meet registration and reporting requirements.”

Ian Freeman and Aria DiMezzo | The Verge
People who have been following cryptocurrencies for a while are probably familiar with Ian Freeman for his activism in the cryptocurrency world and his radio show, Free Talk Live. Freeman is enthusiastic about the same things as Ulbricht (big tent libertarianism). Feds raided him with two BearCat G3s. They also broke a window at his house and flew a drone inside to explore before entering. I think the state violated your NAP. A libertarian nightmare.

A demonstration of state power.
Three co-defendants, Nobody F/K/A Richard Paul and Andrew and Renee Spinella have entered guilty pleas. The government moved to dismiss with prejudice the case against Fordham.
The indictment accuses the conspirators of advertising cryptocurrency for sale online through websites including LocalBitcoins.com and operating cryptocurrency ATMs or kiosks. As a part of the conspiracy, Freeman and DiMezzo opened bank accounts in the names of religious entities, including the Shire Free Church, the Crypto Church of N.H., the Church of the Invisible Hand, and the Reformed Satanic Church.
The co-conspirators evaded detection of their so-called “unlawful virtual currency exchange scheme” by misleading banks about the nature of their business. In some cases, the defendants allegedly tricked banks into believing that their cryptocurrency exchange business was a religious organization receiving charitable contributions. Additionally, the defendants would instruct their customers to lie about their cryptocurrency transactions. In some instances, they instructed customers to tell their banks that payments to the defendants were church donations.

Feds raided the Bitcoin Embassy.
Between May 25, 2016, and March 15, 2021, the defendants exchanged more than $10,000,000 in cryptocurrency for customers throughout the United States.
The superseding indictment charges Freeman and DiMezzo with conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. Freeman also faces the following charges:

Feds pulled Bitcoin ATMs out of the floors of businesses.
Freeman allegedly knowingly processed and profited from transactions conducted by fraudsters and scammers, including so-called “romance scams.” “By knowingly permitting defrauded individuals to exchange fiat currency for virtual currency including Bitcoin, FREEMAN and others facilitated the transfer of illicit proceeds to the executors of the illegal scams, while generating revenue for the virtual currency exchange business.”
If convicted, Freeman and DiMezzo must forfeit an extensive portfolio’s worth of cryptocurrency, cash, and metals. For example, the list below contains the items taken from Freeman and ATMs operated by the defendants.
- [*] U.S. $0.10 silver dime sealed in plastic,
“The evidence shows that the defendant used encrypted messaging apps like Telegram to communicate with the people to whom he was selling his bitcoin. These encrypted messaging apps make it impossible to keep tabs on what the defendant is doing and who he is communicating with without proper monitoring conditions in place.”
Two Keene Residents Charged In Superseding Indictment With Additional Charges Related to Virtual Currency Exchange Business archive.is, onion, justice.gov.
Superseding indictment (pdf)

Perhaps Freeman can be thankful the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team was not involved?
Comments (10)
bitcoin2022-04-288dcd4090
They should have seen this comming. Most if not all crypto operators before regulation better start burning house and moving to Belaruse. I do wonder, what is the government going to do with all those coins?
bubby2022-04-2813308030
Imagine being stupid enough to do this idiocy in the usa or the eu. I am not in favor of doing businesses like these, but really they didn't just move to nicaragua or something? Literally anywhere else other than the usa, canada, and the eu and some select nations (like china or russia) would have been better. Why not move someplace where the people are too tech illiterate to actually do this? I will never understand why people do crimes in the 1st world, you only get caught and its really hard. also telegram glows in the dark.
heparimu2022-04-28958585e0
Imagine being stupid enough to get crypto seized by feds. I guess they never heard about full disk encryption, zero-knowledge cloud services etc. LMAO this is so sad
tetris2022-05-0109500510
Running a business that makes money by skimming a percentage off bitcoin purchases, the overwhelming majority of which are intended for dark net transactions, would be better in any country other than the ones where an overwhelming majority of dark net transactions occur. Right.
passingthru@4am2022-04-2857c25610
I admit, I did not know of Ian Freeman (nee Bernard) from New Hampshire (former resident of Florida) who proclaims to be an advocate of sorts for a litany of causes, such as the Free State movement ("NH-Exit"), Local any-such coin (localbitcoins, etc), child pederasty (moreso an ex-con and click-bait v-tuber show), and the gay. Among so many other noble causes, such as a Senatorial race in 2018, a repeatedly caught narco "Nobody" buddy as a town mayor of Keene (reads: a imbecile of imbeciles no good for any body), and the list continues. Indeed, the more I dig into what hasn't been scrubbed by Ian Bernard and his merry gang of gay-ops-pederast-coin-free-"man"-vexatious-grift-du-jour crew, the more I wonder -when- the entirety of New Hampshire's citizenry will resort to open collusion to remove him from the State. Oh. Right. That may, in fact, be happening.
alias2022-04-29954947c0
LOL. Yet another cop. This site has to be one of the biggest shitholes in the honeypot network.
bubby2022-04-29541c1ab0
this must be the strangest comment I have ever read. It just seems fake, like a bot wrote it. The use of slang is wrong, the overly complex stringing of said slang, the topic literally nobody cares about. it all just glows, this is either a bot or a fed who is like 70 or something.
passingbackthru2022-04-29c1184b40
Because of what Bernard the Perpetually Stupid Literal Genetic Interstate Jew has done: Every last coin, every last dollar, every last account, and every last sale thereof that Bernard touched will glow forever. Bernard might as well have been the FBI, for he repeatedly fucked up that badly, that many times. Bernard glowed the exact same as the FBI. No need for honeypots; No need for honeybots; No need for fake any thing at all: Bernard did it for them. All of them. With the worst opsec I've every dug into. Bernard's only saving grace is he jewed so hard he took down of a gang of hair dyed actual trannies and faggots trying to take over the town of Keene. Too bad the takedown was by accident.
[email protected]2022-04-296c675bf0
ORDER DETAILS: - - Order 1 Country: FR->SC Regarding: Ransomware Type: Metadata Accounts: 1 Signed: 2021-05-17 Received: 2021-10-18 Responded (not received): 2021-10-19 Responded (received): 2022-02-21 - - Order 2 Country: FR->SC Regarding: Ransomware Type: Metadata Accounts: 4 Signed: 2021-08-30 Received: 2022-03-02 Responded: 2022-03-05 Enjoy!
donkeysquad2022-04-285b24cb50
“The evidence shows that the defendant used encrypted messaging apps like Telegram to communicate with the people to whom he was selling his bitcoin. These encrypted messaging apps make it impossible to keep tabs on what the defendant is doing and who he is communicating with without proper monitoring conditions in place.” these feds think we gon believe telegram safe lmao fuck dat shit