Bitcoin Mixer Founder Sentenced to 3 Years for Laundering Over $300 Million in BTC

Larry Dean Harmon, the operator of the Helix Bitcoin laundering service, was sentenced on Friday to three years in prison for his involvement in laundering over $300 million worth of Bitcoin for darknet drug markets.

The U.S. Department of Justice reported that Harmon processed more than 350,000 Bitcoin from 2014 to 2017 through Helix.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell sentenced Harmon to 36 months in prison, more than three years after Harmon pleaded guilty to the charges in a Washington, D.C. federal court. Harmon was originally facing a potential 20-year sentence, and prosecutors had recommended at least 75 months in prison.

However, Judge Howell issued a lighter sentence, taking into account Harmon’s assistance in the Bitcoin Fog mixer case and the fact that Harmon had closed Helix two years before his arrest, which indicated his reform.

In addition to his prison term, Harmon was ordered to serve three years of supervised release, pay $311 million in restitution, and surrender seized cryptocurrencies, real estate, and monetary assets valued at over $400 million.

This case also involved significant cooperation from various agencies, including the IRS Cyber Crime Unit, the FBI Washington Field Office, and the Belize Ministry of Justice, supported by the U.S. Embassy in Belmopan.

The investigation highlighted Harmon’s efforts to launder money for drug dealers using Helix, which included developing an API and integrating features that allowed darknet markets to connect directly with Helix’s Bitcoin laundering services.