Theresa Lynn Tetley, also known by her alias “Bitcoin Maven” has been sentenced to 1 year and a day in prison, as well as a $20,000 fine and three years supervision after release for laundering Bitcoin. According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, Tetley sold narcotics in an illegal bitcoin-for-cash exchange.
Tetley was also ordered to give up all of her illegal cash and crypto which summed up to $292,264 in cash, 25 gold bars, and 40 Bitcoins. The US District Judge Manual Real sentenced the 50-year old “Bitcoin Maven” for engaging in illegal Bitcoin transactions. The one-time real estate investor pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering and one count of operating a money transmitting business without a license.
After failing to register as a money service business with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Tetley did not follow any anti-money laundering practices and customer due diligence. According to the reports, she used the peer-to-peer trading platform LocalBitcoins to exchange a total of $6 million to $9.5 million for customers nationwide.
Her unregistered company also gave a tip to the police that something fishy is going on, and that is how they pinpointed the illegal activities that Tetley had already set up. After exchanging BTC for cash with an undercover agent, the IRS led by Puneet Kakkar, prosecuted the case and sentenced her to 1 year in prison.
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