US Man Indicted For Running An Illegal Fiat-to-Crypto Business

A federal jury has indicted a man from New Jersey for selling $2 million worth of bitcoin through an illegal money transmitting system, reported news portal, The Next Web.The accused William Green was charged with operating an unlicensed business is set to appear before a United States District Judge. However, so far, there has been no date fixed. The news portal further added that as per all the documents filed and statements heard in court, Green’s business, called Destination Bitcoin. The website allowed the customer to convert their fiat currency into bitcoin for a fee.In May this year, we had reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had filed a civil injunctive against Daniel Pacheco, who was the perpetrator of a multi-million dollar pyramid scheme.The complaint filed by the SEC stated that for a period of time spanning from January 2017- March 2018, Pacheco conducted an unregistered, fraudulent offering of securities through two California-based companies he controls, IPro Solutions LLC and IPro Network LLC (collectively, “IPro”). The complaint further stated that investors also received “points” that could be converted into a digital asset known as PRO Currency.At the time, Michele Wein Layne, Director of the SEC’s Los Angeles Regional Office, had said, “We allege that Pacheco hid an old fraud under the guise of cutting-edge technology. He enticed investors by offering them the opportunity to speculate in cryptocurrency, when in fact he was simply operating a pyramid scheme.”However, in Green’s case, the federal law clearly states that anybody in the business (either owning or controlling) of money transmitting business must register it with the Secretary of the Treasury – including ones that sell Bitcoin for cash. Since Green failed to do so, he’s looking at a term of nearly five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.Liked what you read? Join us on Telegram