TechFlow News, January 30: The U.S. Department of Justice announced that the government has formally obtained legal title to over $400 million in assets linked to Helix, a dark web cryptocurrency mixing service. These assets include cryptocurrencies, real estate, and cash. On January 21, Judge Beryl A. Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia signed the final forfeiture order.
Helix was operated by Larry Dean Harmon and processed approximately 354,468 bitcoins (valued at roughly $300 million at the time) in transactions between 2014 and 2017, primarily facilitating money laundering for dark web drug traffickers. Harmon pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering in August 2021 and was sentenced in November 2024 to 36 months’ imprisonment, three years’ supervised release, and forfeiture of assets.
