Federal prosecutors say Harmon’s operation, called Helix, partnered with the online underground marketplace AlphaBay to provide money laundering for customers who accessed the marketplace through the darknet, which is not accessible through internet browsers used by most of the public.
He is alleged to have run a mixing service called “Helix” that worked in conjunction with AlphaBay – one of the leading so-called “darknet marketplaces” accessible only via Tor browser...Helix also worked with a handful of other marketplaces, the indictment said.
The feds seem to be alluding to
direct relationships between Harmon, AlphaBay, and other darknet marketplaces. I wonder if (and to what extent) that plays a role here. The narrative they are painting is reminiscent of
the case against Charlie Shrem.
Running a mixer from inside the United States is probably never a good idea, but my interpretation is that their case is stronger than that.
AlphaBay was shut down almost 3 years ago. The fact that this indictment was unsealed just a few days ago indicates the insanely long timelines US agencies work on. They spend years building these cases.