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Bitcoin Trader Agrees To Work For Police In Plea Agreement

An anonymous reader writes: Florida Bitcoin trader Pascal Reid, who was arrested in a February 2014 sting operation as part of his plea agreement, promised to carry out 20 sessions of law enforcement training in Bitcoin as well as serve as a consultant in criminal cases involving Bitcoin. This is in addition to 90 days in jail with credit for time served and a $500 reimbursement to the State of Florida for the expense of prosecuting him. Qntra has a write up on the case and the full text of the draft plea agreement.

16 of 111 comments (clear)

  1. Re:"20 sessions of law enforcement training" by cheater512 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Making them read is probably slightly harder than getting them to fly.

    A seminar is much easier for them - they can just pretend to pay attention while looking out the window.

  2. Re:Plea agreement = legalized extortion by Anonymous+Psychopath · · Score: 5, Informative

    So, once you got arrested by the cops, they can extort you for anything by throwing the book at you, and you either risk wasting your life in jail or comply.

    This is your so-called "justice" in America?

    You're conveniently leaving out the bit where he was helping undercover cops with Bitcoin for the purpose of obtaining stolen credit card numbers. Fuck this guy.

    --

    Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

  3. Bitcoin is not money by Tokolosh · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It is a commodity, according to today's news at https://news.yahoo.com/cftc-br...

    But according to the plea bargain "The Defendant, PASCAL REID, will enter a plea of guilty
    to count three (3) Unauthorized Money Transmitter in violation of Florida Statute 560.125(5)(A)."

    So what is it? Money or commodity?

    --
    Prove anything by multiplying Huge Number times Tiny Number
    1. Re:Bitcoin is not money by Spy+Handler · · Score: 5, Informative

      The money laundering charge he received wasn't because bitcoin is money, it's because he agreed to take $30,000 and help them pay for stolen credit cards by converting their US dollars (money) into bitcoin with which they can swap for the CC numbers. Instead of bitcoin they could've used gold bars or silver or pearl necklaces, it's just that bitcoin was more convenient.

  4. a) he took $25,000USD b) money is a commodity by raymorris · · Score: 3, Informative

    First, he took $25,000 USD cash. Since cash is most definitely money, money was involved. Bitcoin was also involved.

    Secondly, a commodity is a fungible thing of value.
      Money is a fungible thing of value (commodity) that does not spoil (it's a store of value) which can readily exchanged within a community.

    So if it's money it is therefore also a commodity. It's not either/or , it's "yes, this is a commodity, is it also money".

    1. Re:a) he took $25,000USD b) money is a commodity by tepples · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Money is a fungible thing of value (commodity) that does not spoil

      Fiat money spoils. It's called inflation. Bitcoin, on the other hand, aims to be deflationary.

  5. Re:Plea agreement = legalized extortion by penguinoid · · Score: 2, Insightful

    And how do you feel when an innocent man accepts a plea bargain because he felt he had no choice but to give a false confession? That is, of course, on of the main dangers in coercing confessions.

    --
    Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
  6. Re:Plea agreement = legalized extortion by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

    And how do you feel when an innocent man accepts a plea bargain ..?

    ... or when a guilty person is coerced into giving false testimony against an innocent person in exchange for leniency. It is common for suspects to agree to testify against another person as part of a plea bargain, and later retract that testimony, yet the conviction of the innocent person will stand.

  7. Re:Plea agreement = legalized extortion by Dereck1701 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Problem is in the US it has been taken to an untenable degree. The Aaron Swartz situation is a pretty good example, federal prosecutors threw a litany of charges at him that could have put him in prison for up to 50 years, then offered him a 6 month plea deal. All for downloading some publicly funded research papers using questionable means. This creates a situation where people who have committed extremely minor crimes, or those who haven't committed any crime at all, are forced to "admit guilt" or risk an utterly devastated life.

  8. Re: Plea agreement = legalized extortion by circletimessquare · · Score: 2

    you need to be able to keep track of one subject matter at a time. swartz is about prosecutorial overreach and retarded laws endorsed by congresscritters owned by corporations

    it doesn't help the side of what is good and right to not even know what the fuck you are talking about

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  9. Re:Problem with plea deal by YrWrstNtmr · · Score: 2

    Isn't this what people here have been demanding for years? Someone gets busted for a 'computer crime', and instead of a long sentence, work for/with the police to help prevent such in the future.

    Well, here's one. And people still bitch about it.

  10. Re:Plea agreement = legalized extortion by circletimessquare · · Score: 2

    look at my sig. i'm no friend of stupid ip laws and aaron's death was a horrible tragedy

    but you need to be able to keep track of one subject matter at a time. swartz's case was about prosecutorial overreach and retarded laws endorsed by congresscritters owned by corporations

    the scumbag in this story has absolutely nothing to do with swartz. not in intent, not in action, not in prosecution

    it doesn't help the side of what is good and right to not even know what the fuck you are talking about. you can't change the system if your position is "bad things happening! everywhere all the time it's all the same and interchangeable!"

    no, moron. know what the fuck you are talking about and be able to stay on target and topic. or you just reduce yourself to a useless blathering fool who hurts your cause by making those who care about this cause look to be nothing more than social retards

    which, unfortunately as the comments in this thread shows, there are a lot of around here

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  11. Re:Plea agreement = legalized extortion by circletimessquare · · Score: 5, Insightful

    yes, the cops may falsely charge and falsely imprison an innocent person

    i also understands the cops may charge and imprison an actual criminal

    i am also fairly certain the latter happens a lot more often than the former

    and when the former happens, we should work on making sure laws and policies aren't stupid, that bad apples in the system are punished and removed, and that less mistakes happen. and we should appeal bad convictions and overturn them. how's that sound to you?

    what we certainly should not do is imagine that all of law enforcement is only defined by the bad outliers, because that would be fucking moronic

    we need law enforcement. and we need to clean up law enforcement. what we don't need is a fucking crusade against the existence of law enforcement like a complete social retard

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  12. Re:"20 sessions of law enforcement training" by FlyHelicopters · · Score: 2

    You should watch the recent Mythbusters episode where they tried this...

    Short of hitting a metal electrical box in the wall, even a 9mm went right through several layers of drywall and even a 2x4, and was still lethal...

    A .45 has twice the energy of a 9mm, it would be lethal through a lot... more than I'd care to test...

  13. Re:Plea agreement = legalized extortion by shaitand · · Score: 2

    "but i really want to know about this magical place you live where law enforcement never makes a mistake, has no bad actors and has perfect laws and policies"

    False dichotomy. The current extreme of near universal corruption and abuse at all levels of government including the foot soldiers aka police and a magical land of perfect laws and policies are not the only choices.

  14. Which means it'll never work as money by Sycraft-fu · · Score: 2

    Seriously, people who think that sustained deflation is workable in a currency need to go and take ECON 200 again and l2money.