US Government Secures $400M Asset Seizure in Helix Bitcoin Mixer Case
Federal authorities complete asset forfeiture process, officially transferring ownership of seized digital currency and property to the United States, ending a legal matter connected to Helix's darknet operations spanning 2014 through 2017.
Federal prosecutors have completed the forfeiture process for more than $400 million worth of digital currency and related assets connected to Helix, a Bitcoin-era mixing service that operated on the darknet, according to an announcement made public on Thursday by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).
Larry Harmon, who ran Helix during its operational period from 2014 through 2017, had these assets confiscated by authorities. The cryptocurrency mixing platform functioned to conceal both the origin and destination points of Bitcoin (BTC) transactions that were associated with darknet marketplace activity.
A court ruling issued on Jan. 21 by the US District Court for the District of Columbia serves as the basis for this forfeiture, officially conveying ownership rights of the assets to federal authorities. This final judicial order provides the government with complete legal ownership of the confiscated cryptocurrency holdings, physical property, and monetary assets that were tied to the operation of Helix.
This development represents the conclusion of legal proceedings in what stands as one of the earliest and most substantial Bitcoin mixer prosecution cases to proceed through the American judicial system. The matter demonstrates the extended timeline often required for major cryptocurrency enforcement cases to reach complete resolution, frequently continuing years beyond when the criminal activities themselves ceased.
Helix processed hundreds of thousands of Bitcoin
Based on DOJ records, Helix facilitated transactions involving no fewer than 354,468 Bitcoin throughout its years of operation, representing approximately $300 million in value at the time these transactions occurred. Federal prosecutors established connections between this activity and darknet drug marketplace operators who were attempting to launder proceeds from illicit sales.
In addition to Helix, Harmon was responsible for running Grams, a search engine built specifically for the darknet that functioned to facilitate access to prominent darknet marketplaces operating during that period.
According to investigators, Helix employed an application programming interface that permitted darknet marketplaces to incorporate the mixing service directly into their Bitcoin withdrawal infrastructure, which facilitated money laundering operations on a massive scale.
Federal prosecutors stated that their investigation successfully tracked tens of millions of dollars flowing from various darknet marketplaces into Helix for processing.
Case closes years after sentencing
Law enforcement authorities took Harmon into custody in February 2020, and he subsequently entered a guilty plea in August 2021 to charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The court handed down a three-year prison sentence in November 2024.
During that sentencing, the court mandated that Harmon surrender assets exceeding $400 million in total value. The judicial order issued last week brought the forfeiture process to completion, establishing unambiguous legal ownership in favor of the US government.
According to earlier coverage by Cointelegraph, Harmon received a reduced sentence as a result of his cooperation with federal investigators, which included providing testimony in the prosecution of Roman Sterlingov in the Bitcoin Fog case.