Man In The US Sentenced To Two Years In Prison For Selling Bitcoins Through Unlicensed Business

Man In The US Sentenced To Two Years In Prison For Selling Bitcoins Through Unlicensed Business

A 22-year-old individual in the United States has been sentenced to spend two years in prison after selling hundreds of thousands of dollars in Bitcoin (BTC). The decision was taken due to the fact that Mr. Jacob Burrell Campos sold the digital asset through unlicensed money transmitting business.

Two Years In Prison For Selling Bitcoin

Mr. Campos, who has been selling Bitcoin to interested users through an unlicensed business, will now have to face two years in prison. The individual was also forced to forfeit over $823k in illicit profits.

According to a report released by The Next Web (TNW), he admitted that he operated a Bitcoin exchange without having the necessary license. He did not register the business with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen) that depends on the US Department of Treasury. He has also failed to comply with the necessary anti-money laundering (AML) procedures requested.

David Shaw, special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations in San Diego, said about this:

“Today’s sentencing of Burrell is a reminder to those illegal and unlicensed money transmitters that the laws and rules apply to cryptocurrency dealings just as they do to other types of financial transactions.”

Burrell has also promoted his business on the popular marketplace LocalBitcoins.com. He was using text messages and emails to communicate with his clients. He accepted payments through MoneyGram, ATMs and also in person. He had a commission of 5 percent above the prevailing exchange rate.

Burrell has also been trading virtual currencies in a regulated US exchange but he had his account suspended due to large trading volume in his account. From March 2015 until April 2017, Burrell purchased almost $3.3 million in BTC in over hundreds of transactions.

During this period of time, he used a Hong Kong exchange and moved his US funds to Mexico. The dealer Josep Castillo exchanged the money for cash. Later, between 2016 and 2018, he moved to the United States over $1 million in amounts smaller than $10,000.