Bitcoin Exchange Operator Sentenced to Five-and-a-Half Years in Prison

The former operator of the now-defunct bitcoin exchange Coin.mx has been sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison.

The sentencing of Anthony Murgio comes months after he plead guilty to operating an unlicensed money transmission business in January. Murgio, along with alleged co-conspirator Yuri Lebedev, was first arrested and charged in the summer of 2015. Federal prosecutors later unveiled new charges against Murgio in November of that year

Coin.mx

was a Florida-based bitcoin exchange that federal prosecutors alleged acted as a financial conduit for the laundered proceeds of online criminal activity. The government sought as many as 10 years in jail for Murgio, a figure that the defense pushed back against earlier this month.

Ultimately, US District Judge Alison Nathan opted for a sentencing term of roughly half that amount.

Brian Klein of law firm Baker Marquart, one of the attorneys who represented Murgio, told CoinDesk in a statement:

The exchange was tied to a broader cybercrime scheme that infamously targeted companies like JPMorgan Chase, resulting in the theft of data from tens of millions of the bank's customers.

Another element of the case involved a New Jersey-based credit union, which prosecutors argued in court was used to transmit cybercrime-related funds overseas. That credit union was later shut down and its former chief executive was charged with aiding Coin.mx in exchange for accepting bribes.

According to a report from Bloomberg, a follow-up hearing is set for 1st September, with Murgio remaining out on bail.

Justice image via Shutterstock