A United States court docket has purchased Christopher Bania, who just lately pleaded guilty to drug distribution, to give up practically 17 Bitcoin (BTC) — really worth around $150,000 at press time.
The plea, purchase and sentencing
Per the Oct. 19 purchase from a court docket in Wisconsin, Bania will need to have to forfeit “Approximately 16.91880054 Bitcoin seized from Bania’s ‘Local Bitcoins’ account.” However truly worth around $153,100 as of publication, it is significantly less than the 124 BTC that the courtroom is returning to the defendant, alongside different other cryptocurrencies and over $50,000 in dollars seized from his home upon arrest.
Even though originally charged with dollars laundering, importation of managed substances and retaining a drug residence, Bania’s plea on Sept. 6 was to the one charge of possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute, which carries a optimum sentence of 20 a long time in jail.
Bania’s plea admits to providing marijuana, cocaine, MDMA and LSD on the dim world-wide-web. On the other hand, he denies distributing the methamphetamines, heroin and cocaine foundation that authorities also discovered at his house.
U.S. border patrol initially released the investigation into Bania’s dealings immediately after intercepting two offers from Belgium that contains MDMA. Investigators were being able to trace Bania’s use of darkish world wide web distribution networks many thanks to his transaction notebooks, which the court docket filings describe as “meticulous.”
Sentencing is currently scheduled for Dec. 9.
Other latest dim website prosecutions in the U.S.
A couple in California pleaded guilty to very similar costs in August, as Cointelegraph documented at the time.
In the vicinity of the conclude of July, a Florida guy admitted to working a substantial opioid distribution network online. The court in that instance fined him above $4 million.
