Bitcoin Foundation Urges Court to Dismiss Charge in Florida LocalBitcoins Case
The Bitcoin Foundation, the digital currency's chief trade organization, has filed an amicus brief in connection with a Florida state criminal case involving Pascal Reid, a LocalBitcoins.com user who was arrested and charged with operating an unauthorized money transmission business and money laundering earlier this year. An amicus brief, known formally as an amicus curiae, is a legal tool that can be exercised by parties with strong interests in a case who want to ensure an outcome that is consistent with their views. In this instance, members of the Bitcoin Foundation told CoinDesk, the....
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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....
A Florida circuit court judge has issued a ruling suggesting that individual bitcoin dealers could be considered money transmitters under state statutes. Lawyers representing the defendant, 29-year-old Pascal Reid, had sought to strike down the charge, one of three, on the interpretation that a state resident would need to be a money services business (MSB) or operating on behalf of such an entity to be in violation of the law. The decision, delivered today by Circuit Court Judge Fleur Lobree, argued that a
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 Florida judge has dismissed long-standing charges against Michel Espinoza, accused since 2014 of illegal money transmission and money laundering for selling bitcoin. The case and decision are now likely to have widespread positive implications for Bitcoin in the South Florida region, said the defense’s main expert witness. Espinoza’s legal team had....
A Miami, Florida, trial court recently dismissed a criminal case against a defendant who had sold bitcoin to a police detective as part of an undercover investigation. The case, Florida v Espinosa, has been already been cited by some potentially important precedent for future cases, particularly those where bitcoin's status as "money" or "currency" is at issue. Bitcoin industry advocates will also cite the case when arguing for legislative reform and greater regulatory clarity. But, as legal precedent, Espinosa's value may be limited. It’s a single decision from a....