An Ohio man named Larry Dean Harmon will face three years in prison and have more than $400 million worth of cryptocurrency and other assets confiscated, according to the Justice Department. announced on fridayHarmon was convicted in 2020 Charged with money laundering conspiracy related to Helix, the darkweb cryptocurrency “mixer” service he ran.
Also known as crypto “tumbling,” services like Helix are designed to hide cryptocurrency transactions – often for illegal drugs – and the identities of those involved. According to the DOJ's announcement, from 2014 to 2017, Harmon processed more than 350,000 Bitcoin (worth approximately $311 million USD at the time) in such transactions.
Harmon, who pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy in August 2021, will serve three years of supervised release after serving his prison sentence. He also received a judgment for forfeiture amounting to $311,145,854.
He faced a possible 20 years in prison, but the judge in the case gave him a more lenient sentence after helping with several other investigations, such as wall street journal notesThis reportedly included his testimony in the trial of Roman Sterlingov, who ran another crypto mixer called Bitcoin Fog.