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Bitcoin Exec To Spend Two Years Behind Bars For Silk Road Transactions

Posted by samzenpus on from the end-of-the-road dept.

mrspoonsi writes Charlie Shrem, former Bitcoin Foundation board member and CEO of the now-defunct exchange BitInstant, has been sentenced to two years in prison for helping Silk Road users anonymously swap cash for digital currency. Silk Road, as you know, was the online marketplace infamous for hosting anonymous drug and gun sales that was busted by the FBI back in 2013. A version 2.0 went up shortly after that, but it suffered the same fate as its predecessor this November. Based on evidence gathered during the crackdown, Shrem agreed to partner with Robert M. Faiella to trade over $1 million in cash from buyers. Faiella was the one with direct contact to buyers, hiding behind the name BTCKing to post ads promoting his dollar-to-Bitcoin business on the marketplace.

2 of 69 comments (clear)

  1. Wrong on the guns by stevegee58 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Get your facts straight people. Silk Road did not sell guns.
    Granted it was allowed at first, but SR distanced themselves from firearms and hadn't allowed their sale for some time at the time of the raid.

  2. Re: Sorry, not corporate enough. by sjames · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Google around. How about the special cash boxes built specifically to maximize the amount that could be shoved through the cutout in a teller's window. That's a BIG heap of cash being deposited frequently. Exactly the sort of thing that is supposed to trigger suspicion.