Ohio Bitcoin thief received a 4-year long prison sentence for stealing more than 713 Bitcoins. Read to know more.
Prison sentence for the Ohio Bitcoin thief.
31-year-old Bitcoin thief from Ohio was given a four-year and three-month-long jail sentence for stealing Bitcoins. Gary Harmon allegedly stole about 713 Bitcoins from a computer device. In April 2020, the accused copied eight Bitcoin wallets placed on a device in the IRS’ evidence locker using his brother’s login details. He stole 713 Bitcoins, totaling $4.9 million at the time. Harmon’s brother Larry was accused in February that year of laundering about $311 million in a crypto transaction.
Soon after the crypto disappeared from the device, a photo came up on Harmon’s device. The photo features him sitting in a bathtub filled with cash. Harmon learned that his Brother placed the assets on a Trezor device. However, the authorities needed a “seed phrase” for accessing it. “While the conduct was certainly illegal, it is practically no different and no more sophisticated than obtaining a key to a safe deposit box and taking the contents of that box,” stated Harmon’s lawyers. However, prosecutors referred to these assertions.
More on the case
After entering a guilty plea in January this year, Harmon received a sentence from US Judge Beyl Howell. Additionally, as per the US Justice Department, he agreed to forfeit cryptocurrency and assets totaling over $20 million. He has also consented to the seizure of assets that were the proceeds of the theft. They include over 2.14 Ethereum, 17,404,400.64 Dogecoin, and 647.41 Bitcoin. Harmon’s attorney has requested a three-year sentence due to his 21-month-long custody in “extremely harsh conditions.”
