After close to two years, following the U.S. federal government accusing the Crypto Six of unlicensed money transmission, the case is seemingly coming to an end. According to multiple reports, Keene resident and libertarian activist, Ian Freeman, the last member of the Crypto Six case to be tried, was found guilty on all counts which included unlicensed money transmission, money laundering, and tax evasion. Freeman faces eight years in prison but he was not taken into custody on Thursday afternoon (ET). Reports detail that he must appear for sentencing on April 14, 2023, or appeal the verdict.
Ian Freeman Found Guilty of Unlicensed Money Transmission, Sentencing Hearing Scheduled for April 2023
During the first week of Dec. 2022, Bitcoin.com News reported on the Crypto Six case and how the co-host of the radio broadcast Free Talk Live, Ian Freeman, was preparing to head to trial. Freeman was the only defendant left that remained in the Crypto Six case, as he decided to take the issue to trial in order to bring his case in front of a jury.
The charges against Freeman originally started on March 16, 2021, when U.S. federal agents raided the Shire Free Church in Keene New Hampshire, the Bitcoin Embassy, and the Free Talk Live studio. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said “the defendants knowingly operated the crypto exchange business in violation of federal anti-money laundering laws and regulations.”
After jurors were selected, Freeman’s trial officially started on Dec. 6, 2022. 16 days later, Free Talk Live co-host Mark Edge revealed on Facebook that Freeman was found guilty. “Ian guilty on all counts. unlicensed money transmission, money laundering, and tax evasion,” Edge said. The trial’s verdict was also revealed by the local news publication The Keen Sentinel.
The Sentinel’s Rick Green wrote that “a federal jury convicted Keene resident Ian Freeman on felony charges Thursday related to his cryptocurrency business.” Green confirmed Edge’s statements that said Freeman was found guilty of “operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, money laundering, and income-tax evasion.”
The reporter further noted that Freeman was not taken into custody and is remanded to appear in court on April 14, 2023. Green further noted that Freeman’s defense attorney Mark Sisti told the court that the government’s case was based on “speculation, innuendo, and intuition but short on evidence.”
Some of the members of the Crypto Six case pleaded guilty to one charge of wire fraud last April. While Freeman is scheduled to appear in court for sentencing in April, the Free Talk Live co-host can appeal the verdict in the meantime.