NYC Party Planner Charged in $2.3M Bitcoin Laundering Case

Prosecutors in Manhattan have accused a former party producer of using bitcoin to launder millions in for a “rolodex of crooks” around the world.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office on Thursday (March 24) charged Thomas Spieker, 42, with multiple counts of money laundering and unlicensed money money transmissions. According to the prosecutor, Spieker and his accomplices laundered more than $2.3 million in bitcoin and converting more than $380,000 worth of cryptocurrency into cash.

Spieker “openly bragged about laundering illicit proceeds for a rolodex of crooks involved in a variety of unscrupulous activity ranging from dark web drug dealing to identity theft and other online scams,” Homeland Security agent Ricky J. Patel said in a statement.

“While Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are quickly emerging as alternatives to traditional monetary payments, transnational criminal organizations and malicious actors are evolving to utilize these methods of payment to launder dirty money in perceived anonymity.”

According to The New York Times, Spieker has pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released on his own recognizance. The Manhattan DA says it has also charged a group of Spieker’s clients:

• Manhattan residents Zashan Khan, 30 and Cosmas Siekierski, 25, and John Humphrey and Fidello Palermo – both 51 and from Rochester, N.Y., accused of selling illegal drugs through a dark web vendor called OVOSweatshop.
• Anderson LaRoc, 33, of Brooklyn, accused of carrying out an identity-theft operation that targeted 30 people.
• Dustin Sites, 33, also from of Brooklyn, who prosecutors said opened bank and cryptocurrency accounts to help Spieker launder money.

These defendants also pleaded not guilty and were free on their own recognizance, per The New York Times report.

Read more: CFTC Charges 4 in $44M Bitcoin Scam

Earlier this month, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a federal civil enforcement action against four men accused of conducting a $44 million Ponzi scheme involving Bitcoin.

The CTFC said Dwayne Golden of Florida, Jatin Patel of India, Marquis Egerton of North Carolina and Gregory Aggesen of New York were charged with fraudulently soliciting more than $44 million from investors and misappropriation of millions of dollars.