Danvers Man Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison for Bitcoin Money Laundering
A Danvers, Massachusetts, man has been sentenced to six years in prison for operating an unlicensed Bitcoin money transmitting business that laundered more than $1 million, including proceeds from drug crimes and romance scams.
Defendant Trung Nguyen, also known by the alias “DCS420,” was convicted of operating a Bitcoin exchange and money laundering, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice on Friday. In addition to the prison sentence, he will be subject to three years of post-release supervision and forfeiture of more than $1.5 million in assets related to the illegal activity.
A “Fake Business” and Systemic Concealment
From 2017 to 2020, Nguyen operated a company called National Vending, which was disguised as a vending machine business. In reality, the company operated as an unauthorized Bitcoin exchange, where Nguyen received cash from customers and converted it into Bitcoin, charged a service fee, but did not register with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) as required by U.S. law.
Prosecutors said Nguyen deliberately evaded anti-money laundering regulations, including:
Using encrypted messaging apps to communicate with customers.
Dividing large cash payments of over $10,000 into multiple smaller transactions at different bank branches.
Avoiding a financial trail, making it difficult to trace Bitcoin transactions.
Involvement in other criminal activities
The investigation found that Nguyen received hundreds of thousands of dollars from several individuals, including:
A methamphetamine dealer.
Victims of romance scams – a form of fraud that targets unsuspecting people via social media.
The broader context: Tough action from the US government
Nguyen’s sentence comes as the US government steps up its crackdown on cryptocurrency-related crimes. Not long ago, Alex Mashinsky, founder of the cryptocurrency lending platform Celsius Network, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for defrauding thousands of users, causing billions of dollars in losses and stealing more than $48 million from the company.
These cases show a clear trend: The US government is cracking down on illegal cryptocurrency activities, especially money laundering and organized financial fraud.
