Man Pleads Guilty to Running an Illegal Cryptocurrency Exchange Business

Charles James Randol, 33, admitted that from October 2017 to July 2021, he operated a virtual currency for cash business known as "Bitcoins4Less," and later "Digital Coin Strategies." He provided bitcoin for cash and vice versa for a fee.

Randol failed to maintain an effective AML program for his business and allowed individuals to anonymously launder millions of dollars. The business was directly linked to a fraud scheme that saw an elderly victim lose over $1 million in savings and retirement funds.