Man gets jail time in Coin.mx bank hacking scheme

A software engineer involved in the running of cryptocurrency exchange Coin.mx has been sentenced to 16 months in prison.

Authorities said Yuri Lebedev helped the Florida-based exchange avoid having banks and regulators look into its activities by disguising the transactions as restaurant delivery charges and online purchases of collectible items, according to reports. Lebedev was convicted of conspiracy and fraud charges in March, along with Trevon Gross, a pastor from New Jersey.

Before sentencing, Lebedev told U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan in Manhattan he joined the exchange to build “cutting edge technology,” one “that would make me exceptional,” Bloomberg reported. However, Lebedev admitted that he “got carried away,” only to realize that “there are no shortcuts.”

The now defunct Coin.mx exchange was an unlicensed money transfer business that used digital currency like Bitcoin to launder cash for dark web criminals, including drug dealers, and facilitate extortion scheme. The exchange was also suspected of laundering money for a group of hackers targeting financial companies like JPMorgan Chase and Dow Jones.