BurtW arrested (update: charges dropped!)

[jbreher]

Free speech is still protected in this country, …

I don't mean to derail the discussion, but the First Amendment is also imperiled. The publishers at Paladin Press (a fine Boulder establishment, iconoclastically enough) might have something to say about prior restraint.

I bring this up only to point out that, once you go looking, every tenet of our Bill of Rights is routinely violated with impunity. Like the civil forfeiture issue, it is hiding in the shadows where the blissfully ignorant never deign to look. Which, I believe, is how these injustices are allowed to fester.

[Mayer Amschel]

Here are the 186 ($42,222.00 as of this posting) Bitcoins taken from me by Homeland Security:

https://blockchain.info/address/1Eu38i1DkRAPAJhSqbseVroJDpMRfJbAx3

I am sure you guys can come up with some creative, interesting, fun ideas to do with this information.

So basically you paid yourself out... indirectly of course.

Fucking Thieves..

[NewLiberty]

Here are the 186 ($42,222.00 as of this posting) Bitcoins taken from me by Homeland Security:

https://blockchain.info/address/1Eu38i1DkRAPAJhSqbseVroJDpMRfJbAx3

I am sure you guys can come up with some creative, interesting, fun ideas to do with this information.

So basically you paid yourself out... indirectly of course.

Fucking Thieves..

Fucking thieves under the color of authority.
Enemies of political corruption hate forfeiture laws because they corrupt law enforcement.
They also hate the current iterations of bitcoin regulations.
Bitcoin could begin the end government corruption, if every government transaction were done through its permanent public ledger for all to see, forever.

Its no accident that in California its the same guy pushing both expansion of forfeiture laws and bitcoin regulation in California.  Corrupt politicians passing corrupt laws.
Wherever we find politicians that both understand Bitcoin, and also hate political corruption, we will see them use Bitcoin to regulate government, not the other way around.  It is a rare breed, but it will come someday.

[Amitabh S]

This is why everyone must use a brain-wallet. Lets see how they can seize bitcoins from someone's mind!

(Note brainwallet.org is not to be confused with a brain wallet... the two are actually opposites)

[CoinCidental]

I am still fuming that 35 armed agents surrounded my house, touched my underwear, touched my little girl's underwear, searched my little girl's bedroom, and put my nerdy defenseless husband in the Denver County Jail where he could have been killed (by cops or criminals, it's hard to tell the difference these days) and then isolated him in solitary confinement for 3 days so they could seize Bitcoins from my husband and try to break him to be a confidential informant or cooperating witness. 

We did not get all of our property back even though the charges, which never should have been filed anyway, were dropped.

I know the following property is missing:  my brand new Microsoft Office License Key (probably pocketed by an agent) and 186 Bitcoins (yes, Bitcoins are property per the IRS).

The Bitcoins that are missing are being held by Homeland Security at this address:

https://blockchain.info/address/1Eu38i1DkRAPAJhSqbseVroJDpMRfJbAx3

If you receive Bitcoins from this address, please consider donating them back to my daughter's 529 College Savings Account

I'm actually pretty clueless about the Bitcoin world.  If you see them move, let me know.  I am curious as to what the feds do with these coins.

Thanks,

Jean

186 bitcoins is worth fighting for ,if not for their value today ......but their potential value in 5-10 years could be millions of dollars
i would get the lawyer to hound them

[CoinCidental]

This is why everyone must use a brain-wallet. Lets see how they can seize bitcoins from someone's mind!

(Note brainwallet.org is not to be confused with a brain wallet... the two are actually opposites)

ever heard of a waterboard ?

[Westin Landon Cox]

This is why everyone must use a brain-wallet. Lets see how they can seize bitcoins from someone's mind!

(Note brainwallet.org is not to be confused with a brain wallet... the two are actually opposites)

ever heard of a waterboard ?

That's why you need to have a throwaway brain wallet to give up under torture. Plan ahead, people.

[Westin Landon Cox]

Free speech is still protected in this country, …

I don't mean to derail the discussion, but the First Amendment is also imperiled. The publishers at Paladin Press (a fine Boulder establishment, iconoclastically enough) might have something to say about prior restraint.

I bring this up only to point out that, once you go looking, every tenet of our Bill of Rights is routinely violated with impunity. Like the civil forfeiture issue, it is hiding in the shadows where the blissfully ignorant never deign to look. Which, I believe, is how these injustices are allowed to fester.

Yes, this is true. The only one of the Bill of Rights that (arguably) isn't being routinely violated is the third amendment (quartering of soldiers).

[FloridaBear]

This is why everyone must use a brain-wallet. Lets see how they can seize bitcoins from someone's mind!

(Note brainwallet.org is not to be confused with a brain wallet... the two are actually opposites)

Err, how is that exactly?

[JeanW]

Please see my new topic.  It's about Burt's Family Fundraiser and Celebration on October 11, 2015.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1190952.0

[edric]

The indictment says:

involved the transport and transmission of funds that were known to the defendant to have been derived from a criminal offense and were intended to be used to promote and support unlawful activity

I wonder what that's about. I doubt that he was knowingly helping the Silk Road or anything like that...

The thing is... Why do people pay a premium for bitcoin when they can just buy it from an exchange by linking their bank?  There are a lot of people that intentionally want to remain anonymous because they are laundering money or made the money illegally.  I have asked some borrowers before why they can afford such high interest rates and they have told me the about their customers.

[Soros Shorts]

The thing is... Why do people pay a premium for bitcoin when they can just buy it from an exchange by linking their bank? 

I used to sell mined coins for a small markup to people who did not have bank accounts.

[RussianRaibow]

The thing is... Why do people pay a premium for bitcoin when they can just buy it from an exchange by linking their bank? 

I used to sell mined coins for a small markup to people who did not have bank accounts.

Does not have bank account, still want bitcoin ? Who are they ?

[Soros Shorts]

The thing is... Why do people pay a premium for bitcoin when they can just buy it from an exchange by linking their bank? 

I used to sell mined coins for a small markup to people who did not have bank accounts.

Does not have bank account, still want bitcoin ? Who are they ?

Not sure if you are just increasing your post count, but the last time I checked it was not illegal to live without maintaining a bank account.

[RussianRaibow]

The thing is... Why do people pay a premium for bitcoin when they can just buy it from an exchange by linking their bank? 

I used to sell mined coins for a small markup to people who did not have bank accounts.

Does not have bank account, still want bitcoin ? Who are they ?

Not sure if you are just increasing your post count, but the last time I checked it was not illegal to live without maintaining a bank account.

Of course not. But, not having a bank account and still needing bitcoin is definitely suspicious.

[hodedowe]

The thing is... Why do people pay a premium for bitcoin when they can just buy it from an exchange by linking their bank?  There are a lot of people that intentionally want to remain anonymous because they are laundering money or made the money illegally.  I have asked some borrowers before why they can afford such high interest rates and they have told me the about their customers.

It's sheep like you that are part of the "usefull idiots" of the world (read it), happily turning over all of their information, habits, and data to whomever wants it. Some of us value our privacy for the simple sake of "If you aren't ME, you don't have any right to know what I DO until it affects OTHERS."


Very poor thinking Edric. If you're not the customer, you're the PRODUCT.

Of course not. But, not having a bank account and still needing bitcoin is definitely suspicious.

Another one here. If I don't have a bank account and I still want to invest in Gold because I think it'll go up in value or I think Russia and the US will finally get tired of slapping each other and go to full out war then I'm suspicious? You're thinking like a 13 year old girl. Long term is the only game to play.

[mallard]

This is why everyone must use a brain-wallet. Lets see how they can seize bitcoins from someone's mind!

(Note brainwallet.org is not to be confused with a brain wallet... the two are actually opposites)

ever heard of a waterboard ?

That's why you need to have a throwaway brain wallet to give up under torture. Plan ahead, people.

But it wouldn't be to the password to the same address.

[RGBKey]

This is why everyone must use a brain-wallet. Lets see how they can seize bitcoins from someone's mind!

(Note brainwallet.org is not to be confused with a brain wallet... the two are actually opposites)

ever heard of a waterboard ?

That's why you need to have a throwaway brain wallet to give up under torture. Plan ahead, people.

But it wouldn't be to the password to the same address.

This is what scares me about bitcoin, although nobody can forcibly take the bitcoins from you, they can try their darndest to get it out of you.

[tommorisonwebdesign]

The thing is... Why do people pay a premium for bitcoin when they can just buy it from an exchange by linking their bank?  There are a lot of people that intentionally want to remain anonymous because they are laundering money or made the money illegally.  I have asked some borrowers before why they can afford such high interest rates and they have told me the about their customers.

It's sheep like you that are part of the "usefull idiots" of the world (read it), happily turning over all of their information, habits, and data to whomever wants it. Some of us value our privacy for the simple sake of "If you aren't ME, you don't have any right to know what I DO until it affects OTHERS."


Very poor thinking Edric. If you're not the customer, you're the PRODUCT.

Of course not. But, not having a bank account and still needing bitcoin is definitely suspicious.

Another one here. If I don't have a bank account and I still want to invest in Gold because I think it'll go up in value or I think Russia and the US will finally get tired of slapping each other and go to full out war then I'm suspicious? You're thinking like a 13 year old girl. Long term is the only game to play.

I agree that people should be free from having to have a bank account in order to exchange Bitcoins. Bitcoin is a threat to all banks and all the propagandists out there love to use tactics like linking Bitcoiners to crime in order to protect the mass profits of banks. Banks make more money than anyone else so of course they're going to propagate bullshit about criminals using it to the masses.

[JeanW]

The indictment says:

involved the transport and transmission of funds that were known to the defendant to have been derived from a criminal offense and were intended to be used to promote and support unlawful activity

I wonder what that's about. I doubt that he was knowingly helping the Silk Road or anything like that...

The thing is... Why do people pay a premium for bitcoin when they can just buy it from an exchange by linking their bank?  There are a lot of people that intentionally want to remain anonymous because they are laundering money or made the money illegally.  I have asked some borrowers before why they can afford such high interest rates and they have told me the about their customers.

This angers me more than anything else I read.  Burt never transported or transmitted funds known to be derived from a criminal offense or known to be intended to be used to promote unlawful activity.  That was an absolute lie on the part of the feds to obtain a sealed search warrant.  The phrase is part of a Patriot Act statute revision that enables the feds to act in secret so the feds use it liberally even when there are no facts to support it.  The case was dismissed because (1) Burt did NOT need a business license and (2) he never knowingly obtained funds or sent funds that he knew were earmarked for a criminal activity.  

Our family's reputation has been forever damaged because of the lies and slander by AUSA Michele Korver and S.A. Arran McWhirter and we can never sue the bastards.  The least you people could do is quit perpetuating the lies.

FYI -- people new to Bitcoin like to trade in person because it gives them a chance to learn more about Bitcoins and the community.  It's social.  Like going to garage sales to chat.