The United States Government has announced plans to auction off over $131 million worth of Bitcoin, previously seized in a money laundering and drug trafficking operation. The cryptocurrency was initially intended for federal forfeiture.
In a press release issued by the U.S. Department of Justice, it was revealed that Joseph Farace and Ryan Farace have been sentenced to 19 months and 54 months in federal prison, respectively. Court documents indicate that R. Farace was convicted in November 2018 for orchestrating a scheme involving the manufacturing and distribution of alprazolam tablets, which were exchanged for Bitcoin on dark web marketplaces. This operation led to the distribution of over 9,139 Bitcoins. Prior to his sentencing in 2018, R. Farace collaborated with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to assist the government in accessing Bitcoins that had not yet been seized.
Court documents further reveal that R. Farace laundered additional proceeds to his father and others in an attempt to reduce the amount of cryptocurrency being seized by the government. After his conviction in 2020, J. Farace planned on transferring the cryptocurrency to a third party for conversion into foreign bank funds. The two managed to communicate via email and a contraband cell phone to orchestrate these transactions. On February 10, 2021, federal agents confiscated all of the 2,874.90 Bitcoin that had been transferred to this third party. At the time of seizure, these Bitcoins were valued at nearly $150 million. On May 11, 2021, an additional seizure saw the government take possession of another 58.74 Bitcoin – proceeds from R. Farace's drug trafficking activities.
As reported by crypto.news, the U.S District Court has indicated its intention to sell off these forfeited assets as per instructions from the Attorney General's office. Interested individuals can stake their claim on these assets by filing an ancillary petition.
