Overview
- U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell entered the final forfeiture order on Jan. 21, granting the government legal title to the assets.
- Helix processed at least 354,468 bitcoin between 2014 and 2017—about $300 million at the time—much of it linked to darknet drug markets.
- Larry Dean Harmon pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering in 2021 and was sentenced in November 2024 to 36 months in prison and three years of supervised release, with a forfeiture money judgment.
- Court filings say Helix and the related Grams search engine integrated with major darknet markets through an API that embedded the mixer into withdrawal systems.
- IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI led the probe with assistance from DOJ offices, FinCEN, the Northern District of Ohio, and Belizean authorities, as the outcome renews debate over the treatment of crypto privacy tools.