Need to deposit USD to a federal inmate, paying BTC [Full members + up only]

[JulyAugusto]

Hi all,

I have a very close friend serving time in federal custody in the United States, and I've been funding their account using my debit card from Europe via the JPay app. However, being a big fan of crypto he thought it would be incredible if inmate's accounts could be funded with Bitcoin! Unfortunately this is obviously not available directly, so I figured what the hell, I'll see if anyone's interested in doing it indirectly for the fun of it. 

The sender can be located anywhere in the world, but if they are outside the US the deposits normally take about 24 hours. Sending from inside the US the transfers are sometimes completed within a few hours, but sometimes also take up to 24 hours.

I'm more so doing it as a 'proof of concept' type thing just to be able to say 'Yup, we did it!' so it's not a huge amount - just $20.00 + the $3.95 transfer fee (rates can be found here). So $23.95 total, and paying $28.95.

Will pay $5 to make it worth somebody's time because it's an unusual request for a pretty small amount. 'Full' users and higher only due to the fact that I'll be sending first. Happy to use any reliable escrow service or member from here.

Note: JPay does not accept gift cards, egift cards, Vanilla eGift cards and other virtual cards, Greendot, etc. They only accept credit or debit cards which are registered to you and legitimate (not knocking the legitimate uses of all of those options, they just don't accept them and we want to keep everything above board here!)

Thanks all, looking forward to hearing from you!

[bpovtmg]

I don’t get it. You pay btc to another person to do a cash deposit.

Why don’t you sell your btc at an exchange and transfer the funds via JPay to your friend ? Why do you neee a middleman?

[DaveF]

And then your name is forever tied to fact that you sent money to a federal inmate.
Does it matter? To some people no, to others yeah a lot.
Just seems to be one of those things that could come back to be an issue years down the road when you totally forgot you did it.

-Dave

[bpovtmg]

And then your name is forever tied to fact that you sent money to a federal inmate.
Does it matter? To some people no, to others yeah a lot.
Just seems to be one of those things that could come back to be an issue years down the road when you totally forgot you did it.

-Dave

Exactly, that was my suspicion too. The guy wants to avoid for some reasons being connected to that transfer.

[JulyAugusto]

Hey guys,

All very valid points, and although thousands of deposits are made to federal inmates every day I can certainly understand the concern about it being some sort of red flag in the future.

I don’t get it. You pay btc to another person to do a cash deposit.

Why don’t you sell your btc at an exchange and transfer the funds via JPay to your friend ? Why do you neee a middleman?

As I mentioned in my previous post, that's what I've been doing - funding their account with my debit card via JPay. I've been cashing out BTC to do so. As a huge proponent of Bitcoin he thought it would be a fun way to get his account funded, and I agreed with him, similar to the early 'Bitcoin pizza' days when someone wanted to order a pizza with BTC. They could have used their debit or credit card, but they thought it would be fun to see if they could get their pizza for BTC instead. It's the same general idea here, but with a 'proof of concept' angle because BTC would be the perfect currency for funding inmate accounts and it proves to others that it's doable without the original sender converting to fiat at any point.

I'm guessing that neither of you have had friends or loved ones who are incarcerated so may not be familiar with the sometimes archaic systems those of us left on the outside utilise to fund and stay in touch with them, so I can totally understand the questions as to "Why doesn't this guy just cash out his BTC and send it via Jpay". But our goal here is to see BTC being used as the method of funding by me, and for him to see the funds in USD in his account. Even if it's done by a third party, it's ultimately me sending my BTC and him receiving money on his books, without me first converting to fiat

I'd like to think that if I were going to do something dodgy it would be for a whole lot more than $20!   That's the highest amount I can send with the lowest fee, which is why I chose that amount.

It looks like a non-starter though! Thanks for your comments and views in any event guys, maybe someday we'll be able to spend our crypto in a 'closed-loop' system for even things like this without converting to fiat first. We live in hope!

[JulyAugusto]

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5270156.msg55031321#msg55031321

Buy a debit card! You can fund it yourself and pay wherever you want!

Hit me on ICQ or Wickr.

I appreciate your input, olympusrage, but I have already been using my own debit card to deposit money on his books. I'm trying to just use BTC without converting to fiat at all on my end.  So I send BTC, he receives fiat. Good luck with your sales though! 

[ryap12]

I am only at member's rank but if you still can't find anyone I can do it for you. I am from Asia and is a nobody. Send me a private message if you want me to work for you.

As long as my work here is only as a middle man then I have no problem with it.

[LoyceV]

And then your name is forever tied to fact that you sent money to a federal inmate.

That's my thought exactly!

Just seems to be one of those things that could come back to be an issue years down the road when you totally forgot you did it.

I wouldn't risk it, I can think of so many ways for this to be abused, including money laundering.

I'd like to think that if I were going to do something dodgy it would be for a whole lot more than $20!

There's probably a large chance you're indeed not trying something dodgy, but then again, this is the internet, and Bitcoin users in general don't like to tie their real identity to a transaction, let alone when it involves paying an inmate.

[condoras]

paying an inmate.

This in itself raises an equally important question that "needs" clarification.
@OP: What kind of crime your friend did and end up behind bars? Ofc you can deny answering but if someone wants to help you with it, I believe that he/ she would want to know.

[jackg]

Based on the skepticism of a lot of people here, you can buy a debit card from coinbase for $4 afaik and use that to directly convert bitcoin as many times as you want?

[condoras]

Based on the skepticism of a lot of people here, you can buy a debit card from coinbase for $4 afaik and use that to directly convert bitcoin as many times as you want?

In order to get the debit card, he will have to be verified. Thus, he will use his credentials as he did until now. Nothing will change. Op wants to send BTC to a middle man (aka the fiat provider) and the middle man to send the fiat to his friend. Meaning that the middle man will be shown as a depositor in this transaction(s).

[jackg]

Based on the skepticism of a lot of people here, you can buy a debit card from coinbase for $4 afaik and use that to directly convert bitcoin as many times as you want?

In order to get the debit card, he will have to be verified. Thus, he will use his credentials as he did until now. Nothing will change. Op wants to send BTC to a middle man (aka the fiat provider) and the middle man to send the fiat to his friend. Meaning that the middle man will be shown as a depositor in this transaction(s).

If that's the case this looks like it could bring up red flags to anyone doing this. Op could be banned by the prison or be trying to harass the inmate. I can't think of any other reason this'd be done rather than using someone like coinbase to convert the funds.

[condoras]

If that's the case this looks like it could bring up red flags to anyone doing this. Op could be banned by the prison or be trying to harass the inmate. I can't think of any other reason this'd be done rather than using someone like coinbase to convert the funds.

Since Op is doing it already, I don't see how and why he will get banned from prison. His name is registered as a depositor for the specific individual/ inmate. Besides, if a third person deposits the funds, Op's name will not be shown.
Ofc the reference of a strange (and brand new name) as a depositor, will be a big fat red flag for the middle man. Not to mention that he can be asked the reason for making this particular deposit. And as DaveF said earlier:

And then your name is forever tied to fact that you sent money to a federal inmate.

[LoyceV]

Since Op is doing it already, I don't see how and why he will get banned from prison. His name is registered as a depositor for the specific individual/ inmate.

This story could be fabricated, and we have now way to verify it.

[condoras]

Since Op is doing it already, I don't see how and why he will get banned from prison. His name is registered as a depositor for the specific individual/ inmate.

This story could be fabricated, and we have now way to verify it.

Ofc there is always the possibility this story to be fabricated since from the start OP made some mistakes.
If we have a way to check it, then maybe we should?