BurtW arrested (update: charges dropped!)

[RaXmOuSe]

Did they move your funds? If not, do you have another copy of the seed, or do you know it by heart to move the funds?

I seriously don't understand why they put you on solitary when they had nothing else to take away from you...

They moved the funds (twice for some reason).
There were several arrests made by the task force that weekend.
They did not want us to talk to each other so they issued an administrative separation order covering all the Bitcoiners arrested in the sweep.
At the detention center where I was held there are three huge separate jails, two general population jails and one SHU.
They had to assign each of us to a separate jail.
I was placed in the SHU on an administrative separation (as opposed to a punitive separation).
So, unless they were picking on me specifically, I just got the short straw when the guards selected which jail to assign us to.

Here is a picture of the center, check it out:

Federal Correctional Institution Englewood  

I was in my cell 23 hours a day and got one hour a day out in the slightly larger cage shown here:

Outdoor exersise area of the SHU

Good to see you're ok anyway. 23 hours a day....must have felt wierd. Just the fact you didnt commit any crime, lol, makes it even wierder.

[Amph]

how is your life now, after being in a jail, i know that for prisoner is much more difficult to find a job when they get out, it's the same for you, or maybe the entity of your crime is not so bad in your case?

[PenguinFire]

How is this guy doing now?  I was so glad to hear he got justice and am free now to be an the internet and discuss and promote ideas. 

[Somekindabitcoin]

Was he really in a jail? wow, I hope you are good.. when I saw this thread I thought it's fake.

[NewLiberty]

how is your life now, after being in a jail, i know that for prisoner is much more difficult to find a job when they get out, it's the same for you, or maybe the entity of your crime is not so bad in your case?

There was no crime, no conviction, just an accusation of a crime.

Forfeiture is weird though,
In civil forfeiture...the money is guilty, so the money goes to jail... until the cops spend it.

John Oliver explains Civil Forfeiture (funny and true):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kEpZWGgJks

These laws have corrupted law enforcement in the USA horribly.

[Sithara007]

How is this guy doing now? 

Somewhat better, but still in a lot of trouble. His legal fees amounted to more than $100,000 (of that donations covered some 20%), and his personal computer and other assets were seized by the cops. I am not sure whether he will get a reimbursement of the legal expenses, and I don't know how much time it will take to get those assets and appliances back (including the $600 seized from his kid's piggy bank). Hope to hear from Burt regarding these issues.

[Bitware]

Congratulations Burt. Truly good news. Please keep us updated on the process of getting your stuff returned.

[BurtW]

Let me clear up a few things for those just joining the thread and not having time to go back and read it:

• My actual time in jail was one night in Denver County jail followed by three days and two nights in the Federal Jail in the SHU (solitary confinement).  After that we posted bail and I was out of jail.
• The total cost to our family so far is $284,373.00 and may go a bit higher as we have not gotten the final bills from some of the attorneys.
• The $95,000.00 figure is the amount of the second mortgage on our house that we had to take out in order to pay the bills.  It is not the total cost to us.  The difference was made up by cashing in retirement funds, savings, and some donations (see next bullet item).
• The amount donated so far at our fund raising and information web sites (http://www.jmwagner.com/ and http://www.burtw.com/) is $12,398.00.  Over half from friends and family and the rest from the Bitcoin community.  Thank you!
• I did lose the contract I had when I was arrested because they arrested me at my client's office. I was able to eventually find another contract so I have been able to make some money lately.
• The Bitcoin community pulled together and donated $600 to cover the amount that was taken from my daughters "piggy bank" (her life savings of birthday, Christmas, tooth fairy, allowance, etc. money)  See:  https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=985596.0
• They have returned some stuff and we are working on getting the rest back now.
• No, the government will not be reimbursing me for my legal expenses in a criminal case.
• Yes, please take the time to watch John Oliver explain Civil Forfeiture (funny and true):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kEpZWGgJks
• No this is not a fake thread.  I wish it was.

[bitcart]

Very sad what the authorities did to you. I think people need to be very cautious trading in the "land of the free".

[JeanW]

Yesterday Burt and I went to Homeland Security to recover some but not all of our property.

The chain of custody receipt tells you how often the federal agents checked a piece of property out of evidence.

Following is a link to a post it note that the federal agents checked out of evidence to exam thirteen (13) times.

They were not able to decode it.  See if you can.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/bpjc92d3x3qwwl5/Post%20It053.jpg?dl=0

If you enjoy playing the game, please consider making a donation to Burt's Legal Fund at www.burtw.com

I'll post the answer next Saturday.

Good luck!

[TheButterZone]

Finally a mystery in bitcoindom that doesn't require an autistic savant to solve!

http://www.amazon.com/Dragonology-Complete-Book-Dragons-Ologies/dp/0763623296
The weird script characters are on the cover of it http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/915ILXwDIIL.jpg
http://www.amazon.com/Dragonology-Code-Writing-Ologies-Ernest-Drake/dp/0763636894 probably has the code key.
http://www.freewebs.com/hyd711/Dragon%20Script.jpg is the script probably lifted from book in the last link.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/bpjc92d3x3qwwl5/Post%20It053.jpg?dl=0 is just each line in Dragon Script & then English.

If it's a brainwallet, I haven't been able to arrange the English such that an ever-funded private key hashes out. Was it supposed to be, or just code practice?

[JeanW]

This is a link to a document the federal agents seized from Burt's briefcase that was returned to us yesterday.

The federal agents had never seen or read it before.  It seemed suspicious to them so they seized it.

The federal government wasn't able to comprehend its meaning.  See if you can.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/v975672c8i85f9f/Subversive%20Document055.jpg?dl=0

Again, if you like playing the game, consider donating to Burt's legal fund at www.burtw.com

You should be able to figure this one out on your own.

[Raize]

The federal agents had never seen or read it before.  It seemed suspicious to them so they seized it.

The federal government wasn't able to comprehend its meaning.  See if you can.

I think this is the first time I've actually laughed out loud while reading the forums. I'm glad you guys have kept your sense of humor through this ordeal.

[TheButterZone]

This is a link to a document the federal agents seized from Burt's briefcase that was returned to us yesterday.

The federal agents had never seen or read it before.  It seemed suspicious to them so they seized it.

The federal government wasn't able to comprehend its meaning.  See if you can.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/v975672c8i85f9f/Subversive%20Document055.jpg?dl=0

They couldn't comprehend it because it was in a different form than they have so far seen it in, the official government-issue toilet paper.

[JeanW]

Finally a mystery in bitcoindom that doesn't require an autistic savant to solve!

If it's a brainwallet, I haven't been able to arrange the English such that an ever-funded private key hashes out. Was it supposed to be, or just code practice?

Wow!  Quick turnaround.  You should be a federal investigator. 

I have an 8 year old daughter who loves Dragons and Dragonology.  She was copying the symbols from the book for fun.  It's not a code, just the doodling of an 8 year old.   Her doodles stumped the feds.

[Panthers52]

Finally a mystery in bitcoindom that doesn't require an autistic savant to solve!

If it's a brainwallet, I haven't been able to arrange the English such that an ever-funded private key hashes out. Was it supposed to be, or just code practice?

Wow!  Quick turnaround.  You should be a federal investigator. 

I have an 8 year old daughter who loves Dragons and Dragonology.  She was copying the symbols from the book for fun.  It's not a code, just the doodling of an 8 year old.   Her doodles stumped the feds.

Ha, I was going to say that it was a note from your daughter.

I was going to say that it looked like it said something along the lines of "drop my braces off" at the top, but I really can't tell when it says below, expect for "complete", "book" and "dragons"

I guess on the positive side, at least we know our tax dollars are hard at work trying to decode the writing of a six year old 

[TheButterZone]

Finally a mystery in bitcoindom that doesn't require an autistic savant to solve!

If it's a brainwallet, I haven't been able to arrange the English such that an ever-funded private key hashes out. Was it supposed to be, or just code practice?

Wow!  Quick turnaround.  You should be a federal investigator.  

I have an 8 year old daughter who loves Dragons and Dragonology.  She was copying the symbols from the book for fun.  It's not a code, just the doodling of an 8 year old.   Her doodles stumped the feds.

She wasn't just copying them randomly, if you use the code key http://www.freewebs.com/hyd711/Dragon%20Script.jpg and compare it to the English letters on https://www.dropbox.com/s/bpjc92d3x3qwwl5/Post%20It053.jpg?dl=0 she wrote the same thing in both character sets. That's why I called it code practice.

[Stephen Gornick]

During the search they got into my safe containing all of my physical Bitcoins and other Bitcoin related stuff.

Out of curiosity, was it by force (e.g., damage the lock or hinges)?

[BurtW]

During the search they got into my safe containing all of my physical Bitcoins and other Bitcoin related stuff.

Out of curiosity, was it by force (e.g., damage the lock or hinges)?

If we gave them the keys then they did not have to break in (front door, some lock boxes, etc.)
If they found the keys during their search then they did not break in (some doors, lock boxes, etc.)
If we did not give them the keys or they could not find the keys then they just broke in (my toolbox, door to the outdoor shed, the gun safe, etc.)

So, bottom line, it just cost me money to repair or replace the locks on anything we did not give them the key to or they did not find the key for.

Part of the $284,373.00 cost was repairing the damage they did to our home and office, including doors, locks and walls.

[DannyHamilton]

Part of the $284,373.00 cost was repairing the damage they did to our home and office, including doors, locks and walls.

I take it homeowners insurance doesn't cover the costs of repairing damage caused during a search even if the charges are dropped?