A 35-year-old resident of New Hampshire accused of engaging in illegal activities has been sentenced to 18 months in prison by the US District Court for dealing with cryptocurrency.
According to prosecutor Jane Young, Aria DiMezzo exchanged fiat currencies, mainly US dollars, for bitcoin between June 2020 and January 2021.
DiMezzo recruited clients through various websites, including the LocalBitcoins P2P platform, and received bank transfers to her name and the bank account of the Reformed Church of Satan, which she founded.
In return, she sent bitcoins and other crypto assets to her clients, collecting a commission for her services.
The amount of digital assets exchanged in this manner exceeded $3 million.
Despite exceeding the required amounts for reporting to regulators and filing suspicious transaction reports, the defendant did not comply with these regulations.
DiMezzo also partnered with Ian Freeman, another defendant, by giving him a percentage of the sales revenue for referrals.
Freeman faced similar charges in 2021 and was later found guilty of money laundering conspiracy, running an unauthorized money transfer business, and tax evasion.
Freeman’s sentencing is scheduled for July 17, 2023. Judge Joseph LaPlante sentenced DiMezzo to 18 months in prison, one year of parole, and a $5,000 fine, and ordered the confiscation of 1.93 BTC and $14,000.
According to Attorney Young, any virtual currency exchangers must be registered and comply with requirements to prevent fraudulent activities.
Recently, US law enforcement agencies arrested one of the organizers of the G|CLUBS cryptocurrency fraudulent scheme, which raised about $1 billion from investors.