Amid the storm of New Hampshire's regulation in the office here at dinbits media that seemed to take people by surprise, other news in the digital currency industry focused on the justice cycle, and the shadows of former entities Coin.MX and Silk Road.
Silk Road indirectly as once secret service agent Shaun Bridges was sentence to 6 years in federal prison. As dinbits reported previously in April (from CNN) and August, Bridges was the focus of an investigation which uncovered enough apparent evidence to indite both he and Carl Force on various charges. Force was sentenced to to a slightly higher term of 6 and 1/2 years.
Coin.MX operator Yuri Lebedev was charged with conspiracy to make corrupt payments with intent to influence an officer of a financial institution. This is in violation of 18 CFR 215(a) which states:
(a) Whoever -
(1) corruptly gives, offers, or promises anything of value to any person, with intent to influence or reward an officer, director, employee, agent, or attorney of a financial institution in connection with any business or transaction of such institution; or
(2) as an officer, director, employee, agent, or attorney of a financial institution, corruptly solicits or demands for the benefit of any person, or corruptly accepts or agrees to accept, anything of value from any person, intending to be influenced or rewarded in connection with any business or transaction of such institution; shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 or three times the value of the thing given, offered, promised, solicited, demanded, accepted, or agreed to be accepted, whichever is greater, or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both, but if the value of the thing given, offered, promised, solicited, demanded, accepted, or agreed to be accepted does not exceed $1,000, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.
The penalties for this as highlighted are very sever if convicted. Shaun Bridges and Cal Force may have gotten an easy sentence in comparison to what Lebedev may be facing.
Anthony Murgio, a co-conspirator in the Coin.MX indictment, may have all three of them beat at the end of the day. He faces more sever charges and will likely end up with a much stiffer sentence if convicted.
Let us not forget about Josh Garza. He's facing charges filed by the SEC in regard to the Ponzi-Garza implotion of GAW Miners. 2016 is already shaping up to be an interesting year on the Bitcoin Justice Cycle front.
-Algei
Story by Alba Gei
Banner Photo by Robert Linder
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