Two arrested in illegal bitcoin scheme
A West Palm Beach man is one of two individuals arrested by federal authorities Tuesday for operating an unlicensed money-transfer business that allegedly used bitcoins to launder cash for on-line criminals.
Authorities arrested Anthony R. Murgio, 31, of West Palm Beach and Yuri Lebedev, 37, of Jacksonville. The men are both facing one count of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.
Murgio is also facing one count each of money laundering and willful failure to file a suspicious activity report. The money laundering charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Murgio is also linked to a massive hacking case in 2014 involving JP Morgan Chase, the nation’s largest bank.
In a complaint filed in New York federal court, prosecutors allege that Murgio formed a bitcoin company in 2013 that laundered at least $1.8 million in the virtual currency for thousands of customers.
U.S. Attorney’s Office alleges that Murgio and Lebedev “knowingly exchanged cash for people whom they believed may be engaging in criminal activity.”
Authorities said the men worked with cyber-criminals unleashing “ransomware” attacks in which victims have their computer system electronically blocked until they pay a ransom, typically in bitcoin.
Murgio and Lebedev, prosecutors said, created a front company — Collectables Club Private Member Association — to hide the illegal exchange. The company lists Murgio’s home address in West Palm Beach.
Murgio has been in trouble before. Records show he was arrested on felony charges in January 2012 after he allegedly stole more that $110,000 of sales tax paid by customers at his Tallahassee restaurant and lounge. Murgio received a deferred prosecution and the charges were dropped after he paid the taxes owed to the state.
A graduate of Palm Beach Gardens High School, Murgio attended Florida State University and earned a marketing degree. While at FSU, Murgio met Joshua Samuel Aaron, who is wanted on multiple felony charges connected to a penny stock scheme.
Bloomberg News reported that Murgio and Aaron were both mentioned in an FBI memo from October 2014 regarding an enormous cyber-attack against JPMorgan Chase.
JPMorgan said last year that 83 million customers may have had their data stolen to the hackers. The attack was so large that the Russian government was initially thought to be the perpetrator, Bloomberg reported.
In his personal website, Murgio said that Aaron “showed me the ropes to on-line marketing.”
Two men allegedly connected to Aaron and the penny stock scheme were arrested Tuesday in Israel. Aaron is reportedly in Russia and beyond the reach of U.S. law enforcement.
According to the New York Times, prosecutors hope those arrested on Tuesday will provide information regarding that will lead to federal charges in the JP Morgan case.
Source: PalmBeachPost – Two arrested in illegal bitcoin scheme
