Florida charges LocalBitcoins.com users
Not all of them, but we are certain about two unlucky men, who tried to transfer large amounts of money through the Bitcoin environment. First supposed criminal is Michell Abner Espinoza, the resident of Miami Beach. He was “fished” by an undercover agent, who engaged Michell, also known under the nickname MichaelHack on the mentioned platform, to spend 30 thousand dollars on Bitcoin. Without hesitation MichaelHack agreed to meet with agent and, well paid for it. Michell is charged with money laundering and frequent unlicensed money transmission-type transactions. If former charge is....
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At least two men in Florida have been charged for moving large volumes of bitcoins via the popular person-to-person exchange LocalBitcoins.com. They were charged under state anti-money-laundering laws following an investigation by the US Secret Service, said reports. Security blogger Brian Krebs reported that Michell Abner Espinoza of Miami Beach was arrested after a sting in which an undercover agent engaged him in a fake transaction to convert $30,000 worth of cash into bitcoins. In addition, 29-year-old Pascal Reid was also arrested after meeting with an undercover agent to exchange....
The Bitcoin Foundation announced Thursday afternoon that they have filed an amicus brief with respect to a criminal case surrounding bitcoin transactions in the state of Florida. Said case involves an individual who has been accused of being an unauthorized money transmitter, in addition to facing two counts of laundering money. The case involves two men, Pascal Reid (29) and Michel Abner Espinoza (30), who were both sellers of bitcoin on LocalBitcoins.com. Undercover officers each purchased $1,500 worth of bitcoin from the men, noting that they were going to use the digital currency to....
The process of purchasing bitcoins on a LocalBitcoins ATM will not require an Internet connection. It seems a few arrests in Florida are not going to slow down progress over at LocalBitcoins. LocalBitcoins ATMs are now in production, and users will soon be able to make local trades without having to find a human counterparty. Their ATMs will allow anyone to buy or sell bitcoins, and the most amazing feature of these new devices might be that they don't require an Internet connection to function. Instead of connecting with your phone, the LocalBitcoins ATM will give a user a redeemable code....
The state Florida made headlines when Miami-Dade’s Circuit Judge Teresa Mary Pooler tossed out anti-money-laundering charges against website designer Michell Espinoza. According to recent reports, though, the state is filing an appeal against the decision to dismiss charges. State Of Florida Appeals Judge Pooler’s Decision to Dismiss Charges. In February....
A Miami judge has dismissed charges against a Florida-based bitcoin seller after he was indicted in 2014 on illegal money transmission and money laundering charges. Judge Teresa Mary Pooler sided with the defense's argument that bitcoin doesn't constitute a form of money within the confines of Florida’s legal system, stating in a ruling issued today that Michell Espinoza doesn't qualify as a money transmitter as argued by the prosecution. The case was tried in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Florida. Observers say that the ruling exposes how state statutes don’t account for bitcoin and....