This month, Brannen Sage Mehaffey pleaded guilty in Arizona to operating an illegal cryptocurrency money transfer exchange after a year long investigation by the IRS.
Mehaffey, who operated a money transmitting business in Austin, TX, but was selling bitcoin to individuals in Arizona. Mehaffey was arrested in October 21, 2020 by Special Agents with IRS Criminal Investigation.
Mehaffey was originally accused of illegally exchanging virtual assets for cash.
Mehaffey transferred more than $4,000,000 between January 2018 and March 2020, using peer-to-peer sales, Bitcoin ATMs and accounts at LocalBitcoins. Investigators found that a large portion of the assets were traced to bank accounts at Chase Bank, Wells Fargo Bank and Bank of America, which are owned by the suspect.
According to Brian Watson, Public Information Officer with IRS Criminal Investigation, sentencing set for February 15, 2022 at 11:30 a.m. in Phoenix before Judge Dominic W. Lanza.