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The U.S. Department of Justice has accused cryptocurrency exchange operator AurumXchange of money laundering, alleging that it processed millions of dollars for the Silk Road darknet marketplace.
In an October 28 statement, the Department of Justice said that when 53-year-old Maximiliano Pilipis was running AurumXchange, more than $30 million passed through the exchange as part of 100,000 transactions, some of which came from accounts held on Silk Road.
Under the pseudonym Dread Pirate Roberts, American Ross Ulbricht ran Silk Road from 2011 to 2013 as a marketplace on the Tor network that allowed users to buy and sell goods anonymously, which was used by thousands of drug dealers.
It is alleged that Pilipis operated his exchange without a license from 2009 to 2013, the same year the FBI shut down Silk Road.
According to the Department of Justice, Pilipis received millions in fees for conducting these transactions, including 10,000 Bitcoin (BTC) worth about $1.2 million at the time.
Authorities also accuse Pilipis of neglecting federal registration and reporting requirements for cryptocurrency exchanges by failing to register with the U.S. Treasury Department and failing to file reports on the exchange's activities with the federal government.
It also failed to comply with Know Your Customer (KYC) rules, which is a violation of anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) regulations, the report said.
After the closure of AurumXchange, the authorities claim that Pilypis split up and transferred the bitcoin and other assets he received from the management of AurumXchange to "launder and hide the proceeds of crime".
He is accused of converting his cryptocurrency into U.S. dollars, which were then used to invest in real estate in Arcadia and Noblesville, Indiana.
At the same time, the authorities claim that Pilipis' assets generated income of hundreds of thousands of dollars in 2019 and 2020, and he did not file a tax return.
A federal grand jury has issued a new indictment, charging Pilipis with five counts of money laundering and two counts of willfully refusing to file a tax return.
If convicted, he faces up to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
However, a federal district court judge will ultimately decide Pilipis' fate based on sentencing guidelines and other legislative factors, meaning that his sentence could be more lenient.
Source
In an October 28 statement, the Department of Justice said that when 53-year-old Maximiliano Pilipis was running AurumXchange, more than $30 million passed through the exchange as part of 100,000 transactions, some of which came from accounts held on Silk Road.
Under the pseudonym Dread Pirate Roberts, American Ross Ulbricht ran Silk Road from 2011 to 2013 as a marketplace on the Tor network that allowed users to buy and sell goods anonymously, which was used by thousands of drug dealers.
It is alleged that Pilipis operated his exchange without a license from 2009 to 2013, the same year the FBI shut down Silk Road.
According to the Department of Justice, Pilipis received millions in fees for conducting these transactions, including 10,000 Bitcoin (BTC) worth about $1.2 million at the time.
Authorities also accuse Pilipis of neglecting federal registration and reporting requirements for cryptocurrency exchanges by failing to register with the U.S. Treasury Department and failing to file reports on the exchange's activities with the federal government.
It also failed to comply with Know Your Customer (KYC) rules, which is a violation of anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) regulations, the report said.
After the closure of AurumXchange, the authorities claim that Pilypis split up and transferred the bitcoin and other assets he received from the management of AurumXchange to "launder and hide the proceeds of crime".
He is accused of converting his cryptocurrency into U.S. dollars, which were then used to invest in real estate in Arcadia and Noblesville, Indiana.
At the same time, the authorities claim that Pilipis' assets generated income of hundreds of thousands of dollars in 2019 and 2020, and he did not file a tax return.
A federal grand jury has issued a new indictment, charging Pilipis with five counts of money laundering and two counts of willfully refusing to file a tax return.
If convicted, he faces up to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
However, a federal district court judge will ultimately decide Pilipis' fate based on sentencing guidelines and other legislative factors, meaning that his sentence could be more lenient.
Source
