Inmate accused of laundering $136 million in bitcoin while in jail

An inmate in Baltimore was accused by the authorities of laundering $136 million worth of bitcoin while serving his sentence for his drug-dealing operations.

According to the authorities, Ryan Farace, 37, has laundered 2,933 bitcoin between October 2019 and April 2021.

He was sentenced in 2018, but it turns out that he never stopped his illegal activities by conducting money-laundering operations right inside the prison.

Also known as ‘Xanaxman’

In a report published by The Baltimore Sun, the authorities in Maryland had already pressed charges against Farace, who is also widely known as “Xanaxman.”

It turns out that in a span of just three years, Farace was able to launder 2,933 bitcoin, which is equivalent to $136 million in today’s prices.

Farace and his father are currently serving a 57-month federal prison sentence for selling an illegal substance called “Alprazolam,” a sedative used to treat anxiety and panic disorders.

Dark web dealings

The police caught Farace doing his illegal operations on the Dark Web last 2018. The authorities then required him to forfeit $5.6 million of his revenues from illegal activities and give up his 4,000 bitcoin assets.

The investigators suspect that Farace has more crypto assets that the authorities failed to discover or detect. Last year, Farace attempted to be allowed for compassionate release for reasons related to poor health and the pandemic, but his request was denied.

Previously, authorities have dealt with a similar case, when they arrested a man named Roman Sterlingov, on suspicion that he was laundering $336 million in cryptocurrency. Sterlingov, a Russian-Swedish man, was the leader of the notorious bitcoin anonymizer Bitcoin Fog.

He allegedly offers protection services to users who want to keep their crypto assets under maximum security. From this scheme, he earns commissions ranging from between 2% and 2.5%.