Man Jailed for Running Illegal Bitcoin Exchange in Massachusetts
A Massachusetts man who operated a secretive Bitcoin exchange has been sentenced to six years behind bars after authorities uncovered his role in laundering more than $1.5 million in cash. Trung Nguyen, aged 48, ran the business under the radar while pretending it was a vending machine company.
He was sentenced at a federal court in Boston and will serve an additional three years under supervision after his release. The court also ordered that he forfeit over $1.5 million in proceeds linked to his criminal activity. Nguyen was found guilty in late 2024 of running an unregistered money-transmitting business and concealing illicit funds through digital currency.
Image 1: Trung Nguyen jailed for six years (Source: The Daily Star).
Hidden Transactions Behind a Vending Machine Front
Nguyen’s business, called National Vending, was not what it seemed. On paper, it looked like a company selling or servicing vending machines. In reality, he was running an underground operation that accepted large sums of cash and returned the equivalent amount in Bitcoin, charging fees in the process.
This activity falls under strict regulations in the United States. Anyone offering such services must be registered with the Department of the Treasury and must follow anti-money laundering rules. This includes reporting cash transactions above a certain threshold and alerting authorities to anything suspicious.
Nguyen did none of this. From 2017 through to 2020, he exchanged digital currency for large amounts of physical cash, bypassing the required checks. He failed to notify regulators or submit any reports, even when handling large deals that exceeded $10,000—a red flag in financial compliance.
Investigators found that Nguyen had accepted $250,000 in cash from someone who told him they dealt in methamphetamine. Despite knowing the origin of the money, he processed the Bitcoin exchange. He also received hundreds of thousands from victims of online romance scams. These people were convinced to convert their savings into cryptocurrency, unknowingly handing over funds to overseas fraudsters.
Attempts to Stay Under the Radar
Nguyen went to great lengths to disguise his operations. He misled banks and cryptocurrency platforms by claiming National Vending was a legitimate business selling physical products. He used encrypted messaging to communicate with clients and broke large cash deposits into smaller ones to avoid triggering scrutiny from financial institutions.
Authorities said Nguyen even took an online course that explained how to avoid detection. The course advised participants to invent fake business stories and to never mention Bitcoin during transactions. Nguyen followed this advice closely, preparing false details to support the illusion that his money came from legal sources.
Eventually, his scheme unravelled after undercover agents posed as clients and made a series of cash transactions with him. He gave them Bitcoin in return without asking for any identification or source of funds, a key element that helped prove he was operating outside the law.
Nguyen’s conviction came after a thorough investigation led by a combination of agencies, including Homeland Security, the Internal Revenue Service, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. The case was prosecuted by a unit specialising in financial and cybercrime.
Image 2: Man jailed for $1.5M Bitcoin laundering. (Source: RNZ)
Part of a Bigger Pattern in Crypto Crimes
Nguyen’s case is part of a growing number of incidents involving digital currencies and criminal activity. As cryptocurrency becomes more widely used, authorities are uncovering more schemes where it’s used to move and hide illegal funds.
In another high-profile case from 2024, a woman in London was sentenced after being caught with billions of pounds worth of Bitcoin. She had tried to turn the cryptocurrency into luxury homes and expensive jewellery. The Metropolitan Police described it as the largest seizure of its kind in the UK.
Such cases show how criminals are taking advantage of the anonymous nature of digital currencies. They also highlight the importance of keeping strict rules around who can offer exchange services and how money is tracked.
