Bitcoin Fog Mastermind Found Guilty in Historic Money Laundering Case
Roman Sterlingov, founder of Bitcoin Fog, a major crypto-mixing service, has been convicted of money laundering in a United States District Court.
In a verdict on Tuesday , Roman Sterlingov, 35, was found guilty of multiple charges, including money laundering, money laundering conspiracy, operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, and violations of the D.C. Money Transmitters Act.
Throughout the trial, Sterlingov maintained that he was merely a user of the service, not its operator.
According to a press release from the US Department of Justice, the evidence presented during the trial revealed that Bitcoin Fog founder Roman Sterlingov had operated the business from October 2011 to April 2021, providing a money laundering service for criminals seeking to conceal their illicit proceeds from law enforcement.
Over the course of a decade, the service facilitated the movement of more than 1.2 million Bitcoin, equivalent to $400 million at the time of the transactions.
The majority of these funds were traced back to darknet marketplaces associated with narcotics, computer fraud abuse, identity theft, and the distribution of child sexual abuse material.
“Evidence presented at trial clearly showed that the defendant laundered hundreds of millions of illicit funds from the dark web through Bitcoin Fog in an attempt to conceal the origin of those funds,” Jim Lee, Chief of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation, said.
Meanwhile, Sterlingov’s attorney, Tok Ekeland, stated that they plan to appeal the verdict.
Guilty verdict in U.S v. Sterlingov. Now we appeal.
— Tor Ekeland (@TorEkelandPLLC) March 12, 2024
The jury has ordered the forfeiture of assets seized from Bitcoin Fog, which includes
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