Gary Harmon, brother of the CEO of Helix, guilty to defrauding the IRS of over 712 BTC and using the money for extravagant expenditures. At the time, the stolen cryptocurrency was worth approximately $5.4 million.
Gary Harmon, 31, admitted on Friday to stealing 712 bitcoins from the Internal Revenue Service and pled guilty to one count of wire fraud and obstructing justice (IRS). Law enforcement officers arrested Larry Harmon, the CEO of the darknet cryptocurrency mixing business Helix, in 2020, and took the bitcoins from him.
In August 2021, Larry Harmon entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiring to launder money. Although Larry's attorneys claim that his cooperation with the government is "active and ongoing," his brother was allegedly collecting cryptocurrencies from Larry's seized wallets during that time.
Gary Harmon allegedly utilized the discovered original phrases to manufacture other wallets that belonged to his brother, according to a fresh memo released by the prosecution in August 2021.
He made eight transactions from Larry's forfeited wallet, which was housed on Trezor in an IRS filing cabinet, to his wallet in April 2020. Gary Harmon received 712 bitcoins in total from the IRS, which were worth $5.4 million at the time.
Even after being shown evidence that he had taken his brother's wallet, the prosecution claims that Gary initially vehemently denied doing so.
Upstart Gary financed $1.2 million through BlockFi using bitcoin as collateral to purchase a lavish apartment in Cleveland after gaining access to his brother's wallet. Additionally, he "spent bitcoins freely" on trips on luxury aircraft and strip clubs.
Federal officials searched Gary Harmon's Ohio home in July 2021 and arrested him. They discovered wallets with around $6,000 worth of bitcoin.
Gary Harmon consented to surrender more than $12 million worth of cryptocurrencies, including 647 bitcoins, two ethers, and 17.4 million dogecoins, as part of his plea deal.
Gary Harmon has not yet been found guilty, but he might receive a 40-year prison term.