The U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network today imposed a $60 million penalty against the founder of two cryptocurrency “mixer” services on the grounds that they breached U.S. law.

The accused, Larry Dean Harmon, is alleged to be the operator of Helix and Coin Ninja, sites which provided mixers or “tumbler” services. Cryptocurrency mixer services are sites that are, depending on your point of view, a tool for anonymizing cryptocurrency holdings or a tool used by cybercriminals to hide their stolen cryptocurrency. Those who run cryptocurrency mixing services take a percentage cut from the cryptocurrency they mix.

Harmon was charged as running an unregistered money services business. Helix is said to have been run by Harmon between 2014 and 2017, while Crypto Ninja ran between 2017 and 2020. Putting aside the dubious nature of cryptocurrency mixing services, Harmon, in this case was charged under the Bank Secrecy Act for not registering his service with FinCEN.

According to FinCEN, Helix conducted more than 1.225 million transactions for its customers and was associated with virtual currency wallet addresses that sent or received more than $311 million in cryptocurrency. FinCEN noted that he “operated Helix as a bitcoin mixer, or tumbler, and advertised its services in the darkest spaces of the internet as a way for customers to anonymously pay for things like drugs, guns and child pornography.”

The network added, “FinCEN’s investigation revealed that Mr. Harmon willfully violated the BSA’s registration, program and reporting requirements by failing to register as a MSB, failing to implement and maintain an effective anti-money laundering program and failing to report suspicious activities.”

In the FinCEN case Harmon was fined for running an unregistered money business, but his problems don’t stop there. Harmon is still facing federal charges of “money laundering conspiracy, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and conducting money transmission without a D.C. license.” Should he be found guilty, he faces up to 17-1/2 years in jail.

Harmon was arrested in February and was denied bail at the time, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Image: FinCEN