US authorities have indicted a 27-year-old California man for conspiracy to commit money laundering and unlawful importation of a controlled substance. The defendant was arrested in August 2022.
The defendant and his co-conspirators allegedly laundered the proceeds of his drug trafficking organization through cryptocurrency. As per the authorities, the defendant distributed fake pharmaceutical pills and other controlled substances to US-based customers using the dark web. He received payments in cryptocurrency, typically Bitcoin, from his customers. Together with his co-conspirators, the defendant traded the cryptocurrency for fiat currency and laundered the proceeds using dozens of bank accounts.
Using this scheme, the defendant and his co-conspirators are said to have laundered over $5,350,000.
Source: US Department of Justice
