Firoz Patel, the founder of the crypto payments app Payza, has been sentenced to an additional three and a half years in a US prison for attempting to hide 450 Bitcoin, worth over $43.5 million, from federal authorities. This sentence follows his earlier conviction for money laundering and unlicensed money transmission in 2020, for which he received a three-year prison term and was ordered to forfeit certain assets. After his initial sentencing, Patel attempted to illegally conceal the Bitcoin despite being ordered to surrender assets acquired through his crypto operations. He faced difficulties when trying to transfer the Bitcoin to different exchanges, including Blockchain.com, which flagged his activities. Patel even went as far as hiring someone to impersonate a lawyer to delay his prosecution and evade further charges. Ultimately, the court ruled that he must forfeit over $24 million in addition to the Bitcoin, and he will also serve three years of supervised release post-incarceration.

Source šŸ”—