Legal Issues

Ian Freeman Convicted on All Counts In $10 Million Bitcoin Fraud Scam

Ian Freeman Convicted on All Counts In $10 Million Bitcoin Fraud Scam

Ian Freeman has been convicted on all counts in a case stemming from a $10 million bitcoin scam.

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Following a ten-day trial, Freeman was found guilty of money laundering, conspiracy to launder money, operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business, and tax evasion (four counts).

According to an IRS press release, over a period of several years between 2016 and 2019, Freeman laundered over ten million dollars in proceeds from romance scams and other internet fraud schemes by exchanging U.S. currency for bitcoin.

Freeman broke federal law by failing to register his business with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, disabling "know your customer" features on his bitcoin kiosks, and taking measures to ensure that he did not know what bitcoin clients were doing with their cryptocurrency. In doing all of these things, Freeman created a business that appealed to those engaging in illegal activities.

The perpetrator himself pocketed over $1 million in fees, on which he paid no taxes for four years. 

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Per the IRS, Freeman and his co-conspirators owned bank accounts at multiple financial institutions. All of the accounts were fraudulently "owned" by churches including the Shire Free Church, the Church of the Invisible Hand, the Crypto Church of New Hampshire, and the NH Peace Church.

Freeman told bitcoin customers, who were frequently scam victims, to tell the financial institutions that their deposits were offerings or church donations. 

United States Attorney Jane E. Young spoke out following Freeman's conviction, "The culture of scamming through the internet has become a pervasive societal problem. These scammers get away with their crimes, which often victimize some of our most vulnerable citizens, by hiding their tracks, including the money trail."

She continued, "Money launderers such as Ian Freeman are the ones who help hide the money for these scammers. Today's swift verdict sends a strong message that this type of money laundering will not be tolerated. Stopping scammers by disrupting their methods for hiding their tracks is an important federal objective. This prosecution is an important step in meeting that objective."

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Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division, also shared thoughts about the case, saying, "Make no mistake, the FBI will continue its longstanding tradition of following the money, whether physical, or digital, to expose criminal schemes like this one, and the fraudsters behind them. We thank the jury for its service and its decision to hold Mr. Freeman accountable."

This case was investigated by multiple agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service. The National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team, and the Department of Justice Tax Division.

Freeman will be sentenced in April 2023. 

What do you think about the Ian Freeman case?

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Rebekah Barton

Rebekah Barton

Rebekah's search engine optimization career began completely by accident as a college student. Over the course of her career so far, she has "grown up" with the SEO industry, from writing content while juggling classes to managing her own teams of writers and overseeing SEO strategy in subsequent roles. She is excited to bring her passion for high-quality content to CountingWorks, Inc.

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