Five U.S. citizens receive prison sentences for selling drugs for cryptocurrencies

In the United States, five people were sentenced to imprisonment of 5 to 20 years for selling drugs for cryptocurrencies in darknet markets.

Wyatt Pasek was sentenced to 17.5 years in prison for selling fake opioid tablets. Kevin Dean McCoy, Sylvester Ruelas, Amber Worrell, and Peggy Gomez also received prison sentences for selling heroin, meth, and cocaine in the darknet markets. According to court reports, the defendants used cryptocurrencies to conclude transactions.

Last November, Pasek pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to sell drugs, money laundering and illegal possession of firearms, the prosecutor’s statement said. Pasek agreed to confiscate $ 21,000 in cash, a gold diamond necklace, diamond watches, two gold bars and “thousand dollars” in BTC and other cryptocurrencies.

McCoy, Ruelas, Warrell and Gomez have also pleaded guilty to money laundering through cryptocurrency exchanges. Authorities seized silver and platinum ingots, an AK-47 assault rifle, a 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun and a 50-gauge sniper rifle from the convicts. Convicts sold drugs through the darknet markets AlphaBay, Hansa and Dream Market, which allowed for transactions using cryptocurrencies.

“Drug traffickers feel safe through anonymity. This investigation shows that they are mistaken and cannot remain anonymous. They will not be able to escape justice, ”said Doug Coleman, special agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Recall that this week, a resident of Los Angeles, Kunal Kalra (Kunal Kalra) pleaded guilty to the sale of methamphetamine and the organization of a money laundering scheme through bitcoin for $ 25 million.An earlier, another US citizen also received a prison term for selling drugs for cryptocurrencies.