Bitcoin thief photographed in cash-filled bathtub gets 4-year sentence
A man from Ohio in the United States of America has been sentenced to four years in prison after being photographed in a bathtub full of dollar bills. He stole 713 Bitcoins from a government-seized computer device. After the Bitcoins vanished from the IRS's device, agents discovered his photo in a tub full of cash at a nightclub. Here's some more information.
Harmon used his brother's credentials to recreate eight Bitcoin wallets
US District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, DC sentenced 31-year-old Gary Harmon on Thursday after he pleaded guilty in January. According to the US Justice Department, he also agreed to forfeit cryptocurrencies and other property worth more than $20 million. Harmon had used his brother's credentials to recreate eight Bitcoin wallets stored on a device in Internal Revenue Service evidence locker in April 2020.
The Bitcoin stolen was among 4,877 digital tokens
The 713 Bitcoins that he stole was then valued at $4.9 million. Harmon's brother Larry was charged in February 2020 for laundering $311 million in crypto transactions on Darknet sites. The Bitcoins stolen was among 4,877 digital tokens that were seized from Larry. After it disappeared from the device, a photo was found on Harmon's cellphone where he was lounging in a cash-filled bathtub.
Harmon used 68 Bitcoins as collateral for $1.2 million loan
According to prosecutors, Harmon spend some money to purchase a luxury condo in Cleveland, and used 68 Bitcoins as collateral for a $1.2 million loan. Harmon heard that the government lacked the "seed phrase" to access the Bitcoins that his brother had stored on a Trezor device. A person having that phrase with an additional pin can handle the Bitcoins from another device.
Harmon's lawyer asked for a term of three years
"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," Harmon's lawyer said. However, the prosecutors countered the lawyer's statements. Harmon's lawyer asked for a term of three years since his client has endured "extremely harsh conditions" during his 21 months in jail.
