The founder of the Reformed Church of Satan was convicted of illegal exchange of bitcoins

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The US District Court sentenced a 35-year-old New Hampshire resident accused of illegal activities to one and a half years in prison for dealing with cryptocurrency.

Prosecutor Jane Young said that sinceFrom June 2020 to January 2021, Aria DiMezzo exchanged fiat currencies (mainly US dollars) for bitcoins. The woman recruited clients on various websites, including from the LocalBitcoins P2P platform. Clients sent bank transfers to her name, as well as to the bank account of the Reformed Church of Satan she founded. In return, DiMezzo sent people bitcoins and other crypto assets, collecting a commission for this.

DiMezzo exchanged digital assets in this wayfor more than $3 million. The accused did not report to regulators, although transactions with currencies exceeded $10,000 in total and did not file reports on suspicious transactions, although their amount exceeded $2,000.

DiMezzo collaborated with another defendant, IanFreeman (Ian Freeman), giving him a percentage of the profits from sales for attracting customers. Freeman faced similar charges in 2021 and was later found guilty of money laundering conspiracy, running an unauthorized money transfer business and tax evasion. Freeman's sentencing is due on July 17, 2023.

Judge Joseph LaPlantesentenced Aria DiMezzo to 18 months in prison, one year of parole and a $5,000 fine. The court also ruled that 1.93 BTC and $14,000 should be confiscated from DiMezzo.

“This illegal bitcoin exchange businesscondoned all sorts of scammers who anonymously receive money from their victims. Any virtual currency exchangers must be registered. They are required to comply with requirements that ensure that the activity is not related to fraud,” Attorney Young said at the trial.

Recently, US law enforcement agencies arrested one of the organizers of the G|CLUBS cryptocurrency fraudulent scheme, which raised about $1 billion from investors.