The American was sentenced to 3 years in prison for cooperation with the cryptomixer Helix

Larry Dean Harmon, the operator of the Helix cryptocurrency mixer, was sentenced to 3 years in prison and forfeiture of more than 311 million $ in assets, including cryptocurrency and real estate.

Larry Harmon, a native of Akron, Ohio, ran the Helix platform from 2014 to 2017, which was used to launder money through cryptocurrency. The service allowed transactions to be anonymized by mixing cryptocurrency from different sources. Mostly from online drug dealers, and has been integrated with darknet markets such as AlphaBay and Evolution. Harmon himself pleaded guilty to money laundering in 2021. In addition to the prison term, he received 3 years of supervised release and a civil penalty of $66 million.

Cryptomixers like Helix help hide the origin of cryptocurrencies, making them popular with criminals. The US Congress is actively fighting these platforms, imposing sanctions and arresting the owners. Similar cases include the recent conviction of Bitcoin Fog operator and cash tornado. The case of Larry Harmon shows that the fight against crypto-crime is intensifying as regulators and law enforcement agencies deal with the technical problems associated with money laundering through the Darknet.