Father and Son Convicted in Bitcoin Money Laundering Conspiracy
A father-son duo, Joseph and Ryan Farace, based in Maryland, have been sanctioned for their participation in a bitcoin money laundering operation connected to illicit drug trade on the dark webThe "dark web" refers to parts of the internet only accessible through encryption software like Tor. The dark web provides high anonymity for users since... More. Joseph, the father, at 72 years old, was sentenced to 19 months in federal prison for aiding his son, Ryan, aged 38, in laundering Bitcoin proceeds from unlawful drug transactions. Ryan, a previous offender, was handed a 54-month federal prison term, followed by two years of supervised release, rooted in his 2018 conviction for producing and selling alprazolam tablets, commonly known as ‘Xanax,’ and trading these for Bitcoin on darknet markets under the pseudonym ‘XANAXMAN.’ Despite cooperating with law enforcement following his 2018 sentencing, Ryan was found to have further conspired with his father and others to launder more funds while in prison. These transactions entailed moving Bitcoin to online exchanges and shops, benefiting Joseph. More than 2,874 Bitcoin were confiscated during this bitcoin money laundering investigation. The pair are required to surrender all the Bitcoin seized during the probe.
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