Cash-To-Bitcoin Money Laundering Scam Busted In New York

A cash-to-bitcoin money laundering scam got busted in New York and was worth about $2.3 million according to the scammer who bragged about it on social media so let’s read more in today’s Bitcoin scams news.

A man in New York got charged with running a cash-to-bitcoin money laundering scheme in New York and among other things the case shows the negative sides of law enforcement to crypto. According to the reprots, the 42-year old man called Thomas Spieker was indicted for running a cash-to-bitcoin laundering operation in New York and reportedly bragged about it on social media, convincing his clients that they can stay off the radar as well. He was searching on Google for different means to launder moeny with the help of BTC while bragging to his friends that his customers include people that run major credit card scams and drug dealers. Spieker’s clients were charged with a range of crimes like the operation of an illegal drug marketplace on the dark web.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said that the case shows how new technologies like crypto can become the main drivers of criminal activity which can span across the globe. This spiraling web of international money laundering helped drug traffickers as an organized crime ring and scammers hit their criminal activity and transmit their proceeds across the world. While it can’t be denied that BTC among other coins can be used for illicit activities, the statemetn of DA Braggs seems to be a little far-fetched. The entire operation was worth $2.3 million which a lot of people don’t bode as a huge sum in the crime world.

Speaking of money laundering, if we take a step back and see how functioning finance institutions prove to host cash for convicted criminals, murderers, drug dealers, and more. A couple of years ago, we reported that a document leak suggested that major banks facilitated over $2 trillion in dirty money in a few years but in February this year, documents show that Credit Suisse operated thousands of accounts that belonged to criminals. This has yet to be proven but the fact that there’s an ongoing investigation can raise the alarm. Sure, this web of international money laundering helped many criminals hide their criminal activity but don’t forget that legacy institutions have also been accused of doing this for years.