A woman in Los Angeles is facing up to 30 months in federal prison for running what prosecutors call an ‘illegal money transmitting business’ involving cryptocurrency.
Fifty-year-old Theresa Tetley has pleaded guilty to operating a money transmission business without complying with federal registration requirements, reports NBC. Prosecutors say Tetley made more than $300,000 a year using the website LocalBitcoins to exchange Bitcoin for cash, under the username “Bitcoin Maven.”
Authorities say some of the transactions moved money that came from drug trafficking. They are asking the courts for permission to seize 40 Bitcoin, $292,264 in cash and 25 gold bars in her possession.
As reported by Motherboard, a growing number of people are being charged with crimes for selling Bitcoin online, although US states are not on the same page when it comes to determining whether or not it’s illegal to do so.
Prosecutors say Tetley “fueled a black-market financial system in the Central District of California that purposely and deliberately existed outside of the regulated bank industry,” according to courtroom documents.
Tetley sold the Bitcoin between 2014 and 2017.