Florida Man's Argument Rejected in Bitcoin Case
It seems that Florida and bitcoin are suddenly joined at the hip. Madeira Beach has become the first municipality to accept the digital currency following a city council decision, and is hosting its Bitcoin Bowl pre-party in preparation for the real thing. Recently, however, Florida's relationship with bitcoin has encountered a glitch. Following his arrest in Miami in February of this year for selling bitcoins to an undercover agent, 29-year-old Pascal Reid has argued that Florida's state money transfer statue refers only to corporations, rather than individuals; an argument that has been....
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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....
Is it possible to be laundering money with Bitcoin if it’s not legally considered money? A court case in Florida may be about to give us an answer. Can’t Launder Money If It’s Not Money. The by-now infamous case concerns Michel Espinoza, a young computer programmer and early bitcoin trader arrested in January 2014, and later charged with dealing in....
The criminal case that sees Anthony Murgio – a Florida man charged with operating an illegal (unlicensed) bitcoin exchange – saw the presiding US federal judge reject a bid from Murgio’s defense that bitcoin did not classify as “funds”, which would deem it exempt from applicable federal laws. U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan has rejected Anthony Murgio’s claim to dismiss two charges related to his alleged involvement of unlicensed bitcoin exchange Coin.mx. In his bid, Murgio argued that bitcoin wasn’t money and therefore doesn’t fall under the purview of federal law of....
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 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....