Guy who ran Bitcoins4Less tells Feds he had less than zero laundering protections

A California man has admitted he failed to bake anti-money laundering protections into his cryptocurrency exchange, thus allowing scammers and drug traffickers to launder millions of dollars through the service. Charles James Randol, 33, who is now due to be sentenced, faces a maximum of five years in federal prison and three …

[Anonymous Coward]

Cheap sentence?

Working for an American financial institution, we must go through mandatory AML (anti money laundering) training each year, and the consequences for the firm if an audit finds a violation tend to be in the high 6-digit payouts.

With that in mind, a kid operating a blatantly open money laundering gig takes a proportionally much smaller punishment (assuming white-glove inmates usually manage to leave the can way before their time is served)

[Sorry that handle is already taken.]

Re: Cheap sentence?

Is early parole/release allowed on federal sentences in the US?

[Michael Wojcik]

Re: Cheap sentence?

Federal parole was essentially abolished by the CCCA in 1984. It's my understanding that absent a pardon, the final sentence (after appeals) for a Federal crime in the US should be at least 85% served before an inmate is eligible for early release, though I haven't found a specific citation to confirm that. With the 1994 Crime Bill the Feds also incentivized states (with additional funding) to impose the 85% rule for certain felonies, and apparently most of the states took up the offer.

So contrary to what OP claimed, this guy should end up serving most or all of his sentence.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Cheap sentence?

>plus a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the total illicit proceeds from the scams, whichever amount is greater.

I count a minimum of 6 figures there. Ok sure, 250,000 is the lower end of what 6 figures could be, but do notice these small, but significant bits:

"twice the total illicit proceeds" AND "whichever amount is greater".

Plus (up to) 5 years in prison, and 3 years supervised release.

Oh and with US data privacy being what it is, this will follow him wherever he goes in the future and continue to trip him up throughout his life. I imagine securing loans and mortgages will be a life long challenge for him once he is out.

It might be a bit lenient for how blazon his approach was, but I wouldn't call it a cheap sentence.

[katrinab]

Re: Cheap sentence?

I do think it is a sufficient punishment to deter other people from trying the same thing.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Cheap sentence?

> the consequences for the firm if an audit finds a violation tend to be in the high 6-digit payouts.

Something of a difference in impact to "the firm" taking the hit when "the firm" is only one person.

He isn't going to be shrugging this off and getting on with business as usual afterwards.

[iron]

Re: Cheap sentence?

> a kid operating a blatantly open money laundering gig

At 33 years old it is a long time since this fool could be described as a kid. He is in fact an adult and fully responsible for both his actions and their consequences, as he is about to find out.

[Anonymous Coward]

Bank Secrecy Act

Another of those law names that means the exact opposite of what it says.

[sebacoustic]

not SBF

so here's one who did at least serve his customers(*), rather than pissing away customers' hard-earned FTX-style.

(*) albeit their business not being guaranteed 100% above board.

[that one in the corner]

Suspicious packaging

> the cash was often packaged in a suspicious manner, including inside hidden children's books, concealed inside fake birthday or holiday presents, buried within puzzle pieces, or wrapped within multiple magazines

Those sound like all the ways I'd stuff a £20 or £50 (for special days) into an otherwise cheap and grotty gift for the youngsters when I had no idea what they really wanted for Christmas.

Maybe that explains the vans - we all know the drain is further down the road...

[Pete Sdev]

Re: Suspicious packaging

Yet this is exactly what the police advise to do if you keep cash at home - to store it in non-obvious places.

[Mockup1974]

Hmm I wonder if all those American Candy shops on Oxford Street (who just happen to all have money exchanges too) have done their proper AML precautions?

[tiggity]

.. see also the recent surge in nail bars, barbers etc. in many small towns

I have never yet seen any of these establishments looking anything other than very quiet (and this is based on visiting the local "high St" on a variety of times and including weekends and weekdays).

I do fail to understand how they could legitimately thrive (especially as some "busy" businesses have closed there recently as although they were making profits, rents so high (the current UK financial issues have not caused landlords to reduce rents, if anything rents have surged up a greater rate) that profits / vs long hours of effort & general stress of running a small shop not worth their while)

[iron]

Nail bars, like tanning salons, are often a front for something else.

The many Turkish barbers in my area seem to have have a lot of staff and very few if any customers but considering the prices they charge these days, maybe they're legit?