Policy
Share this article

Crypto Critic and Former Senator Bob Menendez Gets 11 Years in Prison for Bribery

Menendez is a former senator from New Jersey and a Democrat.

By Parikshit Mishra|Edited by Sheldon Reback
Updated Jan 30, 2025, 1:17 p.m. Published Jan 30, 2025, 12:57 p.m.
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) exits Manhattan federal court on July 16 as a jury found Menendez guilty of accepting bribes. (Adam Gray/Getty Images)
Sen. Bob Menendez. (Adam Gray/Getty Images)

What to know:

  • Menendez was convicted on charges of bribery last year.
  • He had co-sponsored a bill pressuring El-Salvador to not accept bitcoin as legal tender.

Staunch crypto skeptic and disgraced former U.S. Senator Bob Menendez was sentenced to 11 years in prison on Wednesday on charges of bribery and acting as an agent for Egypt, the Associated Press reported.

Menendez was a Democrat from New Jersey and famous for taking shots at crypto. He once called bitcoin (BTC) an "ideal choice for criminals" and also opposed El Salvador's acceptance of BTC.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW
다른 이야기를 놓치지 마세요.오늘 State of Crypto 뉴스레터를 구독하세요. 모든 뉴스레터 보기
By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms & conditions and 개인정보 보호정책.

“You were successful, powerful, you stood at the apex of our political system,” District Judge Sidney H. Stein told Menendez, according to AP.

”Somewhere along the way, and I don’t know when it was, you lost your way and working for the public good became working for your good.” Stein added.

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele took to X and commented on Menendez's sentencing.

"This senator was the great reference of the opposition (front pages, reports, etc.) when he accused El Salvador of using Bitcoin for money laundering and corruption," Bukele said.

“The thief judges by his condition,” he added.

Menendez took bribes in the form of gold and cash and used his political connections to act as an agent for Egypt, according to the report.

The former senator was convicted on bribery charges last year, as CoinDesk reported.

UPDATE (Jan. 30, 13:16 UTC): Adds Bukele's comment on the sentencing.

Bob MenendezCrimeEl SalvadorPolitics

More For You

U.S. DOJ hits Paxful for $4 million in case tied to illegal sex work, money laundering

작성자 Jesse Hamilton|편집자 Stephen Alpher
19분 전
The U.S. Department of Justice grabbed another of the men it alleges moved billions in criminal money at BTC-e. (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)

The crypto platform's penalty was sharply reduced due to its ability to pay, according to U.S. authorities.

알아야 할 것:

  • The U.S. Department of Justice won a $4 million penalty from former crypto platform Paxful in a sentence tied to the dodging of money-laundering laws.
  • The amount was reduced from an original amount of $112 million by prosecutors after determining the business couldn't pay that much, the DOJ said.
Read full story