On 10/19/2020, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) announced a $60 million civil money penalty (CMP) against Larry Dean Harmon and two convertible virtual currency businesses he founded. In their release, FinCEN explained that Harmon’s two businesses, Helix and Coin Ninja, were convertible virtual currency “mixers,” or “tumblers” and violated the Bank Secrecy Act and its implementing regulations. Specifically, FinCEN states that Harmon and his businesses operated as an unregistered money transmitting business. In doing so, Harmon and his businesses operated “as a bitcoin mixer, or tumbler, and advertised its services in the darkest spaces of the internet as a way for customers to anonymously pay for things like drugs, guns, and child pornography.” Mr. Harmon is also currently being prosecuted in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on charges of conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and the operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business.

The full FinCEN release can be found here.

Adam Witmer

Adam Witmer is a speaker, author, and founder of the Compliance Cohort. Adam has taught hundreds of seminars and training sessions to thousands of bankers throughout the United States and teaches on all areas of regulatory compliance. Adam has written five e-books that he never published, hit a grizzly bear while driving in a National Park, and is an award winning photographer and musician (though he no longer takes photos nor plays any instruments). In his spare time, Adam can be found kayaking on the lake, doing taekwondo with his kids, working on his (project) house, or spending time with his family.

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