The court sentenced a resident of Guam to 30 months in prison for illegal bitcoin exchange
The court sentenced Julien Abate Weymouth, a resident of Guam, to 30 months in prison for illegal money transfer business, exchange and transfer of bitcoins, as well as for attracting crypto investments.
According to the prosecutor's Office of the District of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, from January 2020 to April 2021, 32-year-old Julien Abat Weymouth provided cash and cryptocurrency transfer services for a fee. In addition, the violator urged people to invest in cryptocurrencies, guaranteeing them a percentage profit from the invested funds.
He transferred the attracted bitcoins to a third party, a certain William Ichioka. Ichioka managed the investment scheme Ichioka Ventures, for which he was subsequently prosecuted in the Northern District of California. During the implementation of this scheme, Weymouth transferred assets worth about $5.5 million. He reinvested his personal profits in various cryptocurrencies, kept money in bank accounts, and spent part of the funds on the purchase of vehicles.
The prosecutor's office's claim also consists in the fact that Weymouth did not register with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the United States (FinCEN), violating federal rules on money transfer. As part of the plea agreement, more than 200 BTC worth $8 million, 6 cars and $127,000 in a bank account were confiscated from Weymouth. The court sentenced the offender to 30 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
Source: bits.media
