The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has charged a man for operating an unlicensed Bitcoin ATM network that laundered from $15 million up to $25 million from over the last six years.
Kais Mohammad, 36, also known as "Superman29," was charged in a three-count criminal information. Mohammad agreed to plead guilty to one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, one count of money laundering, and one count of failure to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program, the DoJ states.
Mohammad admitted that between December 2014 to November 2019, he operated Herocoin, an illegal virtual-currency money services business, that offered bitcoin-into-cash exchange services, charging fees of up to 25%.
Subscribe to our Telegram channel to stay up to date on the latest crypto and blockchain news.
Later, Mohammad purchased and advertised a network of Bitcoin ATM kiosks, which were located in malls, gas stations and convenience stores in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
"After FinCEN (the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) contacted Mohammad in July 2018 about his need to register his company, Mohammad did so, but he continued to fail to comply fully with federal law concerning money laundering, conducting due diligence and reporting suspicious customers," the DoJ wrote in a press release.
Mohammad faces a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison.
Earlier, iHodl reported that the DoJ is looking for a dark web and cryptocurrency international computer hacking and intellectual property attorney advisor.
According to a job listing, the advisor will focus on developing and administering technical and developmental assistance designed to improve the capabilities of foreign justice sector institutions and their law enforcement personnel.
Access more than 50 of the world's financial markets directly from your EXANTE account – including NASDAQ, London Stock Exchange and Tokyo Stock Exchange.