A New Hampshire man accused of running an unlicensed bitcoin exchange business catered to romance scammers and impostors who tricked their victims into transferring money to him that he shared as virtual currency with criminals after taking their share, a prosecutor alleged during opening statements at his trial on Tuesday. .
But Ian Freeman, who is also charged with money laundering, conspiracy and four counts of tax evasion, actually warned people about scams and helped businesses in the community, his attorney said in the federal trial in Concord.
Some of what the prosecution is saying is “absolute nonsense,” defense attorney Mark Sisti said. Freeman has pleaded not guilty.
Freeman, of Keene, was arrested last year on charges of running the business without a license and evading taxes from 2016 to 2019, Assistant US Attorney Georgiana MacDonald said. She said Freeman designed his business so ill-begotten profits could be hidden and scammers could buy bitcoins anonymously.
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He said Freeman operated by a “rule of thumb” which he described as: “What you do with your bitcoin is your business. Don’t tell me what your plans are.” He said the transactions were handled at bitcoin kiosks in bars. , online and through an app.
A New Hampshire man has been charged with running a bitcoin trading business without a license.
MacDonald said Freeman found himself in dispute with some banks over the transactions, so he hired people to open new accounts in the names of churches that acted as “little more than letterheads” for what he said were donations.
But Sisti said the church’s activity was “real” and that Freeman’s activities ranged from helping the homeless in Keene to establishing an orphanage in Uganda.
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“He helps,” said Sisti. “He doesn’t hurt.”
Freeman and five others were arrested in March 2021. Three pleaded guilty to wire fraud by opening accounts at financial institutions in their names or in the names of churches to allow someone to use the accounts to sell virtual currency. They received light sentences. A fourth pleaded guilty to operating a money transmission business without a license and is awaiting sentencing. Charges against the fifth person were dismissed.
Freeman, in his 40s, was active in the Free State Project, a 20-year political experiment promoting a mass migration of 20,000 libertarians to New Hampshire. Fewer than 6,500 have arrived so far, but they have made inroads everywhere from school boards to the legislature.
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Freeman, who changed his last name from Bernard, has run unsuccessfully for various legislative offices over the past decade. He hosts a radio talk show, “Free Talk Live,” and writes for the blog, “Free Keene.” He also says that he has been a minister and co-funder of the Shire Free Church.
His trial is expected to last two weeks.
