A man described as one of the bigger cryptocurrency marketers in North Texas has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business. Mark Alexander Hopkins, 42 Richardson, was charged by criminal information in March.
Hopkins called himself “Dr. Bitcoin” for his understanding of the cryptocurrency market and how to navigate the nearly-uncharted waters of virtual money. He has told a federal judge that he used his knowledge to help the operator of a Nigerian lottery scam hide his money.
The scammer contacted Hopkins in September of 2019, according to court papers. The documents refer to the scammer as M.H., a man interested in converting his lottery profits into bitcoin so that they could not be traced. Hopkins admitted he had promised not to get involved in M.H.’s business, but advised the scammer how to circumvent financial institution reporting requirements by keeping deposits under $9,500, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District of Texas. The transactions converted between $550,000 and $1.5 million in about one year.
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During his plea, Hopkins admitted he was not licensed nor was he registered to conduct the business, say the plea papers.
“This defendant ignored federal law and allowed fraudsters to use Bitcoin to operate under the radar of law enforcement,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah in the news release. “We are determined to rid the Bitcoin marketplace of anyone who knowingly helps criminal actors stash illegal profits inside crypto wallets.”
The business of cryptocurrency is in its infant stage and represents a fluid line to prosecutors.
“For a long time there have been laws regarding currency transactions and now it’s been updated to include cryptocurrency, bitcoins and the like.” said Matthew Orwig, an attorney with the firm Winston & Strawn who served as U.S. Attorney. “It is, itself, criminal but what the government is really interested in are the people and the entities behind these transactions that are using cryptocurrency to launder money or to conceal criminal activity.”
Hopkins now faces a possible five year federal prison term.
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