According to Foresight News, Gary James Harmon, the younger brother of Larry Harmon, the founder of the cryptocurrency mixer Helix, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and obstruction of justice, and admitted to stealing 712 bitcoins from the IRS. These bitcoins were confiscated by law enforcement after Larry Harmon was arrested in 2020. According to a memorandum filed by prosecutors in August 2021, Gary Harmon used mnemonics to recreate multiple wallets belonging to Larry Harmon. In April 2020, he transferred the tokens to his own wallet. In July 2021, federal agents arrested Gary Harmon and searched his home in Ohio. As part of the plea agreement, Gary Harmon agreed to surrender more than $12 million in cryptocurrency, including 647 bitcoins, 2 ETH, and 17.4 million Dogecoins. He faces up to 40 years in prison.
Foresight News notes that in October 2020, the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) imposed a $60 million civil penalty on Larry Harmon for allegedly violating the federal Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). FinCEN claimed that Harmon was operating an unlicensed remittance business related to Helix.
