Unlucky NJ Man 🍀, Busted in Crypto-Drug Racket! 😱

by

Now, this here’s a tale of a New Jersey fella who got himself tangled up in a bit of a legal pickle. 🥒 He was found guilty by a jury of good folks for his part in a drug-running and money-laundering shindig that made use of wires and crypto to shuffle ill-gotten gains around.

This little operation, which the folks in charge say was going strong for six whole years, involved bringing in and spreading around fentanyl-like substances. 🤮

Crypto-Fueled Drug Network

On January 27, the federal jury said “guilty” to William Panzera, according to the court’s papers. Him and his gang brought in synthetic opioids from China, then peddled them all over New Jersey. The drugs, which included furanyl fentanyl, were sold in bulk or disguised as phony pills.

To keep the cash flowing, Panzera and his buddies shuffled hundreds of thousands of dollars through wire transfers and crypto deals. The authorities reckon the money ended up in the pockets of their foreign drug suppliers.

The folks at Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Newark led the hunt, with a little help from other federal and local law enforcement outfits like the FBI, IRS, and U.S. Customs. 👮‍♂️

Panzera, age 51, is set to face the music on June 25. He’s looking at a minimum of ten years in the slammer. Might even spend the rest of his days behind bars for drug dealing, plus another 20 for his part in the money laundering scheme.

Crypto’s Role in Criminal Enterprises

Panzera’s story shows how crypto is getting chummy with organized crime. It ain’t as common as regular money for laundering just yet, but the anonymity and global reach of digital dough make it mighty tempting for ne’er-do-wells.

Not too long ago, a couple of Russian chaps, Sergey Ivanov and Timur Shakhmametov, got themselves in hot water for running a crypto money-laundering racket. They’re accused of moving close to $800 million tied to cybercrooks and ransomware types.

And in early 2024, a dad and his son got themselves sentences of 19 and 54 months, respectively, for using Bitcoin to clean the money they made from drug dealing. They supposedly raked in over 9,000 BTC, worth about $150 million back then, by making and selling Xanax on those dark web marketplaces.

Read More

2025-02-02 01:33