California man gets prison for Bitcoin money laundering

Published November 19, 2021 10:22 AM

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California man has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for operating an unlicensed business that exchanged at least $13 million in Bitcoin and cash. Federal prosecutors say 50-year-old Hugo Mejia of the city of Ontario structured his business to establish an anonymous conduit for money laundering of drug trafficking proceeds. Prosecutors say that Mejia exchanged Bitcoin for cash and vice versa from from May 2018 to September 2020. They say he charged commissions for the transactions. Mejia was sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty in July to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and money laundering.

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