Trung Nguyen gets 6 years in prison for unauthorized Bitcoin.
Laundered over $1M for scammers and drug dealers via National Vending.
Omitted FinCEN registration, violated anti-money laundering laws.

A jury found Trung Nguyen, 48, of Danvers, guilty of running an unlicensed Bitcoin business and sentenced him to six years in prison for turning cash into Bitcoins. The sentencing order from Judge Richard G. Stearns calls for five years in prison, three years on supervised release and forfeiture of $1,513,000.04. From 2017 to 2020, Nguyen’s vending machine company allowed scammers and a drug dealer to do several illegal transactions.

Nguyen’s trial, called DCS420, was completed in five days before he was found guilty in November 2024. The jury found that the defendant had committed one crime of unlicensed money business and another of money laundering.On the money fraud accusation, he was acquitted. According to Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth B. Kosto and Benjamin A. Saltzman, Nguyen intentionally violated federal regulations.

Unlicensed Bitcoin Operation Exposed

Nguyen carried out his plan through National Vending, LLC, making it appear as a professional vending machine operation to banks and government officials. In fact, he took cash from clients, including a meth dealer and exchanged it for Bitcoin at a cost. In 2018, Nguyen received two hundred fifty thousand dollars in 10 different transactions from the narcotics dealer. From 2019 to 2020, he collected money from victims of romance scams in Missouri, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, instructing them to exchange cash for Bitcoin that he then sent to overseas fraudsters.

Federal law treats virtual currency exchangers as money transmitters and requires them to register with FinCEN, a division of the Department of Treasury. The company did not register as a money services business and it also did not file required reports for transactions that exceeded $10,000. “Nguyen was aware of receiving illegal funds and helped facilitate crime,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy.

To hide from authorities, Nguyen depended on encrypted messaging and software that hid his Bitcoin transactions. He divided deposits above $10,000 into various limits and spread them over several days or across different branches to keep his actions hidden. Nguyen followed the paid course by setting up a fake business front, leaving out references to Bitcoin and making up supplier names.

Law Enforcement Takes Tough Action

The scheme was revealed by an investigation carried out by Homeland Security Investigations, the IRS Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England, said that by evading bank rules, the suspect directed illegal money into the regular economy. The probe revealed that Nguyen knowingly handled money from drug dealers and scam victims on behalf of his clients involved in criminal acts.

The government’s actions against Nguyen further prove its commitment to stopping cryptocurrency crimes. The Department of Justice is actively targeting services that transfer funds illegally, many of which connect to fraud and drug trafficking. Recently, a Texas man laundered over $1 million in fraud funds using a similar method and received a prison sentence.

The post Massachusetts Bitcoin Launderer Sentenced to 6-Year Prison Term appeared first on Live Bitcoin News.

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Filed under: Bitcoin - @ May 24, 2025 5:23 am