Owner of Bitcoin Exchange Sentenced to Prison for Money Laundering

[Baofeng]

Owner of Bitcoin Exchange Sentenced to Prison for Money Laundering

A Bulgarian national who was convicted by a federal jury for his role in a transnational and multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud American victims was sentenced today to 121 months in prison.

Acting Assistant Attorney General David P. Burns of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Robert M. Duncan Jr. of the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Resident Agent in Charge John Oldham of the U.S. Secret Service made the announcement.

U.S. District Court Judge Robert E. Weir sentenced Rossen G. Iossifov, 53, formerly of Bulgaria, for conspiracy to commit a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) offense and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

According to trial evidence, Iossifov owned and managed RG Coins, a cryptocurrency exchange headquartered in Sofia, Bulgaria. According to the evidence at trial, Iossifov knowingly and intentionally engaged in business practices designed to both assist fraudsters in laundering the proceeds of their fraud and to shield himself from criminal liability. At least five of Iossifov’s principal clients in Bulgaria were Romanian scammers, who belonged to a criminal enterprise known in court records as the Alexandria (Romania) Online Auction Fraud (AOAF) Network.

More specifically, according to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Iossifov and his co-conspirators participated in a criminal conspiracy that engaged in a large-scale scheme of online auction fraud that victimized at least 900 Americans. Romania-based members of the conspiracy posted false advertisements to popular online auction and sales websites — such as craigslist and eBay — for high-cost goods (typically vehicles) that did not actually exist. Once victims were convinced to send payment, the conspiracy engaged in a complicated money laundering scheme wherein domestic associates would accept victim funds, convert these funds to cryptocurrency, and transfer proceeds in the form of cryptocurrency to foreign-based money launderers. Iossifov was one such foreign-based money launderer who facilitated this final step in the scheme.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/owner-bitcoin-exchange-sentenced-prison-money-laundering

So this guy was sentenced to 10 years for helping Bulgarian scammers laundered dirty money thru the exchange that he has established.  And he himself make money out of it amounting to $200k. The other co-conspirators have been sentence as well but some remain at large. And according to the documents as well, they duped at least 900 Americans, close to $7 million, hence the heavy penalty. It was a joint effort in the part of US, Romania and Bulgaria.

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[stomachgrowls]

So this guy was sentenced to 10 years for helping Bulgarian scammers laundered dirty money thru the exchange that he has established.  And he himself make money out of it amounting to $200k. The other co-conspirators have been sentence as well but some remain at large. And according to the documents as well, they duped at least 900 Americans, close to $7 million, hence the heavy penalty. It was a joint effort in the part of US, Romania and Bulgaria.

Once caught then expect that charges and consequences would really be next in line. Platforms or exchangers arent really exempted when it comes to money laundering issues and other

and since these are heavily regulated or do follow certain jurisdictions then expect for those inspections or trace ups and when something leaks out then you would really be fucked up.

Its just right that those who do illegal things should be penalized and 10 years imprisonment seems too short imho.

[sunsilk]

Its just right that those who do illegal things should be penalized and 10 years imprisonment seems too short imho.

Yeah, they should be fined according to what they've done. And they're not just involved in money laundering but also fraud through online auctions based from the quote above.

I remember one fact that was shared about Bulgaria having a lot of bitcoins. That fact says they're the 2nd largest bitcoin holder in the world as of last year. What if those bitcoins has a portion from that activity that were seized by their government? well most countries have that share, I guess. It's just playing in my mind.

[TravelMug]

Its just right that those who do illegal things should be penalized and 10 years imprisonment seems too short imho.

Yeah, they should be fined according to what they've done. And they're not just involved in money laundering but also fraud through online auctions based from the quote above.

I remember one fact that was shared about Bulgaria having a lot of bitcoins. That fact says they're the 2nd largest bitcoin holder in the world as of last year. What if those bitcoins has a portion from that activity that were seized by their government? well most countries have that share, I guess. It's just playing in my mind.

Possible, and maybe that's how they acquire huge amount of bitcoins, by scamming not just Americans, but all over the world with their online auctions. But the good thing is that some of the criminals have been put in jail and thanks to the efforts form this 3 countries. I wonder though if US citizens are not involved, perhaps it will take years to get those criminals. 

I would say that $7 million = 10 years is not enough, because if they get out, for sure they could come back again and still scam people out of their precious crypto.

[mich]

10 years is a lot of time to be sentenced for a crime like this one but just think how many lives this man ruined.   
He ruined the futures of many people for his own personal gains.   I agree with others who say 10 years doesn’t seem like enough years for what he did.

[Findingnemo]

Its just right that those who do illegal things should be penalized and 10 years imprisonment seems too short imho.

Yeah, they should be fined according to what they've done. And they're not just involved in money laundering but also fraud through online auctions based from the quote above.

I remember one fact that was shared about Bulgaria having a lot of bitcoins. That fact says they're the 2nd largest bitcoin holder in the world as of last year. What if those bitcoins has a portion from that activity that were seized by their government? well most countries have that share, I guess. It's just playing in my mind.

I don't think the government seized the bitcoins which were laundered since bitcoin is decentralized and no way to access them unless the exchange owner give the private key details of their wallets. Ignorant people are also to be blamed for falling into such fake selling and auction websites.

[Gozie51]

This is the reason that most exchanges manipulates figures especially centralized exchanges and investors don't get the accurate volume and when the real manipulated fund is removed, you see the exchange crashing with investors fund.

10 years is a lot of time to be sentenced for a crime like this one but just think how many lives this man ruined.  
He ruined the futures of many people for his own personal gains.   I agree with others who say 10 years doesn’t seem like enough years for what he did.

You look like you have contradicted on yourself about the agreement of the time for the offender's jail term.

[Harlot]

According to evidence at trial, Iossifov designed his business to cater to criminal enterprises by, for instance, providing more favorable exchange rates to members of the AOAF Network. Iossifov also allowed his criminal clients to conduct cryptocurrency exchanges for cash without requiring any identification or documentation to show the source of funds

I have a feeling that Iossifov's business is just disguised as a crypto exchange but the real main purpose is to launder the money of criminals. These kinds of exemptions and special treatment won't exist if he is really a clean crypto exchange without any kind of hidden agenda. I don't think legit crypto exchanges would offer this kind of exemption in KYC as well as a difference in exchange rate to special kinds of people without him benefiting from such trade.

[Lorence.xD]

10 years is a lot of time to be sentenced for a crime like this one but just think how many lives this man ruined.   
He ruined the futures of many people for his own personal gains.   I agree with others who say 10 years doesn’t seem like enough years for what he did.

The reason that the sentence is shorter might be because of his cooperation to the authorities, that can sometimes help when you are on the prosecuted side, or maybe he got that sentence because he has back ups that are pulling the strings behind the curtain. If this was a fair trial, I think that the presiding judge thinks this is a fair sentence and we should not question that because the worst thing is a mob justice system that will surely lynch anyone.

[coolcoinz]

According to trial evidence, Iossifov owned and managed RG Coins, a cryptocurrency exchange headquartered in Sofia, Bulgaria.

U.S. District Court Judge Robert E. Weir sentenced Rossen G. Iossifov, 53, formerly of Bulgaria,

Did he now get a U.S. citizenship, since he was trialed and incarcerated in the U.S. and is referred to as a former citizen of Bulgaria? Regardless, it's funny that people who run many different types of businesses around the world sometimes find themselves in conflict with the U.S. law and get transported there, judged and sentenced to serve in local jails with all the local cream of the crop.

[marcbitcoins]

Most of exchanges are now complying with KYC and AML regulations of the same type that banks use so if once a certain amount of data is obtained by the government, a given criminal is a lot more likely to be caught using cryptocurrencies to launder money. This event should served as warning to all people who uses Bitcoin / cryptocurrency exchanges as the vehicle for money laundering.

[Theb]

Most of exchanges are now complying with KYC and AML regulations of the same type that banks use so if once a certain amount of data is obtained by the government, a given criminal is a lot more likely to be caught using cryptocurrencies to launder money. This event should served as warning to all people who uses Bitcoin / cryptocurrency exchanges as the vehicle for money laundering.

Actually in everything their will be good and bad.Bitcoin is not created for money laundering.But in some country, it was indirectly used for money laundering also.The people who involved in money laundering was sentenced everywhere. It was not a new one in bitcoin alone.The investors should avoid of spreading fake news.

If you read the DOJ's report on this cryptocurrency exchange you would know that this man designed his crypto exchange as a front but in reality his main service is of the ones who wants to launder their Bitcoin giving them favorable exchange rates and also not providing KYC or any kind of identification for this criminal organizations which for me something Bitcoin or cryptocurrency is used directly as an accessory to launder the money. This was not fake news or in anyway fabricated and the evidence shows that a crime had happened and I think that is the beauty of Bitcoin where criminals think that they are somehow safe because they aren't touching fiat currency but now the authorities are catching up and they are discovering ways on how to track transactions and movements of cryptocurrency so maybe one day Bitcoin being seen as a money for criminals will be removed from the mindset of everyone even the ones who will be new to the industry.

[Streets 2.0]

And people still say something about some kind of privacy and security. Here's a vivid example of a person who fell under government regulation. No matter how you call it, as long as a person is physically on the territory of a state, his jurisdiction will extend to the entire territory, the only way to freedom is somewhere in neutral waters; D

[Streets 2.0]

Man sentenced to 10 years in prison for $ 200,000? For some reason, it seems to me that the man managed to earn much more than what is written in the article! A sad story that spoils the overall image of the cryptocurrency world. I think the fewer such court cases and decisions, the better for the market as a whole and for all participants in this market.