‘No questions asked’ Bitcoin launderer gets 6 years in prison
Trung Nguyen, a Massachusetts man, has been sentenced to six years in prison for operating an unlicensed cash-to-Bitcoin conversion service called National Vending. He was ordered to forfeit $1.5 million. Nguyen ran the service from September 2017 to October 2020, using techniques learned from an online course to evade authorities, including disguising his business as a vending machine operation. His clientele included scam victims and a drug dealer who transferred $250,000 in cash. Nguyen converted over $1 million to Bitcoin without registering with the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and failed to file required reports on large transactions. He was caught during undercover operations where he accepted cash and sent Bitcoin in return. Nguyen was convicted of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business and one count of money laundering, having pleaded not guilty to all charges initially.
