Trung Nguyen, a 48-year-old from Danvers, Massachusetts, has been sentenced to six years in prison for converting cash into Bitcoin as part of an unlicensed money transmitting operation. Over three years, he laundered more than $1 million, taking fees for his services. His activities included accepting $250,000 from a self-identified meth dealer and $445,000 from victims of romance scams transferring funds overseas. Nguyen implemented methods to obscure the nature of his business, telling banks it was a vending operation and utilizing encrypted messaging to communicate with clients. He also took measures to break down large cash deposits to evade detection. Convicted after a five-day trial, Nguyen was ordered to forfeit $1.5 million and faces three years of supervised release post-sentence. Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy emphasized that Bitcoin would not render money laundering undetected and reiterated the risks associated with such criminal activities.

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