Bitcoin of America, a Bitcoin (BTC) technology firm, and three of its executives have been indicted on charges of money laundering, conspiracy and other crimes connected to the operation of over 50 unlicensed crypto kiosks in Ohio.
The Cuyahoga County grand jury returned the indictment on March 1 against the firm, the owner and founder, Sonny Meraban, manager Reza Meraban, and company attorney William Suriano. The trio was arrested last week and search warrants were executed on their residences in Florida and Illinois.
The indictment alleges that Bitcoin of America knowingly benefited from victims of cryptocurrency scams, who exploited the lack of Anti-Money Laundering protections in the firm’s systems to transfer funds out of users’ crypto wallets.
Romance scammers, law enforcement impersonators, and “robocallers” directed victims, often elderly or otherwise vulnerable, to Bitcoin of America ATMs, where they were instructed to put cash into the machine in exchange for BTC in a wallet they thought was theirs but had no control over.
The company allegedly pocketed a 20% transfer fee each time this occurred and continued to do so even after learning they were fraudulent.
The indictment also accuses the company of operating due to “written misrepresentations regarding the nature of their business to government agencies,” helping it run the kiosks without a money transfer license.
Authorities seized 52 Bitcoin ATMs last week, but the firm has more in Ohio and other states. Bitcoin of America reportedly made $3.5 million in profit from cash deposits at these unlawful kiosks in 2021.
Officials believe the firm has been operating and evading regulatory safeguards and financial compliance requirements since 2018. The investigation into the firm and its executives was reportedly spearheaded by the United States Secret Service’s Cyber Fraud and Money Laundering Task Force.
