Bitcoin Exchange Trial Ends With Two Convictions

Two individuals connected to the now-defunct bitcoin exchange Coin.mx have been convicted following a trial in New York.

A Manhattan jury sided with the prosecution in convicting Coin.mx operator Yuri Lebedev and Pastor Trevon Gross. Both Lebedev and Gross had been charged with bribery and conspiracy charges, while Lebedev was also tried on bank fraud and wire fraud charges. No sentencing date has yet been set, according to a report from Reuters.

Lebedev and Coin.mx operator Anthony Murgio were arrested and charged in 2015 after the exchange's closure, which operated in Florida and allegedly served as a conduit for cybercrime funds. The exchange was also connected to a string of cybercrimes, including a 2014 data breach at JPMorgan Chase which exposed the personal data of tens of millions of customers.

Pastor Trevon Gross was accused of taking $150k in bribes for his role in using a New Jersey credit union to help the exchange process payments. Regulators later moved to shutter that exchange.

Defense attorneys for Gross and Lebedev claimed during the trial that their clients did not know that Coin.mx was running an illegal operation.

Murgio, who plead guilty to charges related to Coin.mx in January, is scheduled to be sentenced in June.

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