• Press Releases
    • Submit a press release
    • Read All
  • Contact us
Advertise
Bitcoinist.com
No Result
View All Result
  • Bitcoin
    • News
    • Price
    • Businesses
    • Acceptance
    • Technology
    • Investment
    • Regulation
    • Reviews
    • All Bitcoin News
  • Altcoins
    • News
    • Price
    • Ethereum
    • Ripple
    • Litecoin
    • EOS
    • NAGA
    • All Altcoin News
  • Tech
    • Blockchain
    • Security
    • FinTech
    • Price
      • Bitcoin Price
      • Ethereum Price
      • Binance Coin Price
      • Litecoin Price
  • Industry
    • Industry News
    • Press Releases
  • How to
    • Buy gift cards/mobile Top Ups with Cryptos
    • What Is Bitcoin?
    • Best Bitcoin Wallet
    • Bitcoin vs Ethereum
    • Why Use Blockchain Technology?
    • Bitcoin Cash ABC vs. Bitcoin Cash SV
    • How to Buy Cryptocurrency
    • How to do Crypto Gambling
      • Crypto Casinos
        • Ethereum Casinos
        • Solana Casinos
        • LiteCoin Casinos
        • DogeCoin Casinos
        • Live Crypto Casinos
        • New Casinos
        • Instant Withdrawal Casinos
        • Cash App Casinos
        • No KYC Casinos
        • VPN Casinos
        • Offshore Casinos
          • Crypto Casinos IT
          • Crypto Casinos ES
            • All Guides
          • Crypto Casinos JP
          • Crypto Casinos SG
          • Crypto Casinos MY
          • Crypto Casinos KR
          • No GAMSTOP Casinos in UK
          • No Cruks Casinos NL
      • Crypto Betting
        • No ID sportsbooks
    • Play Crypto Games
      • Crypto Poker
      • Crypto Slots
      • Crypto Blackjack
      • Crypto Crash Gambling
        • Aviator Sites
      • Plinko
    • Bitcoin Mining
    • Best Bitcoin Brokers
    • Best Bitcoin Forex Brokers
    • How To Earn Bitcoin
    • What is Facebook Libra?
    • Ripple and XRP: The Complete Guide
  • Events
  • Play Games
Breaking News: FTX Trust Sues Genesis To Recover $1 Billion Allegedly Misappropriated By SBF
  • Bitcoin
    • News
    • Price
    • Businesses
    • Acceptance
    • Technology
    • Investment
    • Regulation
    • Reviews
    • All Bitcoin News
  • Altcoins
    • News
    • Price
    • Ethereum
    • Ripple
    • Litecoin
    • EOS
    • NAGA
    • All Altcoin News
  • Tech
    • Blockchain
    • Security
    • FinTech
    • Price
      • Bitcoin Price
      • Ethereum Price
      • Binance Coin Price
      • Litecoin Price
  • Industry
    • Industry News
    • Press Releases
  • How to
    • Buy gift cards/mobile Top Ups with Cryptos
    • What Is Bitcoin?
    • Best Bitcoin Wallet
    • Bitcoin vs Ethereum
    • Why Use Blockchain Technology?
    • Bitcoin Cash ABC vs. Bitcoin Cash SV
    • How to Buy Cryptocurrency
    • How to do Crypto Gambling
      • Crypto Casinos
        • Ethereum Casinos
        • Solana Casinos
        • LiteCoin Casinos
        • DogeCoin Casinos
        • Live Crypto Casinos
        • New Casinos
        • Instant Withdrawal Casinos
        • Cash App Casinos
        • No KYC Casinos
        • VPN Casinos
        • Offshore Casinos
          • Crypto Casinos IT
          • Crypto Casinos ES
            • All Guides
          • Crypto Casinos JP
          • Crypto Casinos SG
          • Crypto Casinos MY
          • Crypto Casinos KR
          • No GAMSTOP Casinos in UK
          • No Cruks Casinos NL
      • Crypto Betting
        • No ID sportsbooks
    • Play Crypto Games
      • Crypto Poker
      • Crypto Slots
      • Crypto Blackjack
      • Crypto Crash Gambling
        • Aviator Sites
      • Plinko
    • Bitcoin Mining
    • Best Bitcoin Brokers
    • Best Bitcoin Forex Brokers
    • How To Earn Bitcoin
    • What is Facebook Libra?
    • Ripple and XRP: The Complete Guide
  • Events
  • Play Games
Bitcoinist.com
No Result
View All Result
Breaking News: FTX Trust Sues Genesis To Recover $1 Billion Allegedly Misappropriated By SBF

$77,000 Cash Seized by FBI, Suspects Say They Were Trying to Buy Bitcoin

Matthew Hrones
by Matthew Hrones
7 years ago
·
Posted in Bitcoin, News, News teaser
Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure

Two bags carrying over $77,000 in cash were seized by the FBI in January at the Dallas Love Field Airport. The suspects claimed the money would be used to buy bitcoin. 


Smells Fishy — Or Like Weed

The FBI filed a complaint for forfeiture in federal court last week after seizing two bags carrying more than $77,000 in cash earlier this year.

A duffle bag and a leopard print backpack found their way into checked luggage in January. The owners on their way from Texas to Burbank, California. According to a supervisor for Southwest Airlines, the bags smelled like marijuana and had wads of USD “spilling out of the backpack.”

Investigators found and talked to the owners of the two bags. The man who owned the duffle claimed to be traveling to California to meet with someone about trading bitcoins while planning to return to Texas within 24 hours. The owner of the backpack also told authorities she was traveling to Burbank to trade bitcoin.

According to the complaint, the man said he’d earned the money working in the music business and the woman worked as a lash extension technician. The man stated that they had smoked marijuana a previous day, which is why the money smelled. However, according to the complaint, the bills had a “pungent and distinctive smell of fresh marijuana.”

The total added up to around $77,010 in cash. At today’s prices, the couple could have purchased around 9.33 bitcoins. However, the cash was originally seized back in January. At that time, that entire pile of cash could’ve bought only 6.12 bitcoins.

Money Laundering Concerns

While no criminal charges were filed against the pair, the event raises some concerns that digital currencies could be used to bypass anti-money laundering legislation. This is a common subject brought up by people when talking about why Bitcoin is a bad thing.

Japan is one of the few countries that recognizes Bitcoin as legal tender, having passed laws that legitimized digital currency in early summer 2017. Bitcoinist reported in February 2018 that the Japanese National Police Agency stated that, since the legalization of Bitcoin, less than 0.17 percent of money laundering cases used Bitcoin or other digital currencies.

Money laundering with Bitcoin will only get more and more difficult as time goes on as well. Since Bitcoin operates as a public, auditable ledger, anyone can view transactions sent from address to address. Some companies are already working on software to track blockchain transactions and link real-world identities with certain Bitcoin addresses.

The US Government used the public ledger to indict twelve Russian intelligence officers for conspiring to influence the 2016 presidential elections.

What do you think about the pair’s story? Is money laundering a big problem for cryptocurrencies? Let us know in the comments below! 


Images courtesy of Bitcoinist Archives, Shutterstock.

Editorial Process for bitcoinist is centered on delivering thoroughly researched, accurate, and unbiased content. We uphold strict sourcing standards, and each page undergoes diligent review by our team of top technology experts and seasoned editors. This process ensures the integrity, relevance, and value of our content for our readers.
ShareTweetShareShare

Sign Up for Our Newsletter!

For updates and exclusive offers enter your email.

I consent to my submitted data being collected and stored.
Matthew Hrones

Matthew Hrones

Follow

I'm a computer science student with heavy interest in cryptocurrencies and decentralized systems. I've been writing since the June 2017, and hope to become more involved in the community as time goes on

Full Profile

Related Posts

Bitcoin

Fed Chair Choice May Be Bitcoin’s Biggest Bull Trigger, CEO Says

5 hours ago
India

India Cracks Down: Stricter Rules To Combat Rising Digital Payments Fraud

1 day ago
Philippines

Philippines Authorities Move To Put Key Public Records On Blockchain After Mass Protests

1 day ago
Liczba milionerów kryptowalutowych wzrosła

Liczba milionerów kryptowalutowych wzrosła o 40%. Rynek przekracza 3,3 biliona dolarów

3 days ago
Bitcoin

Bitcoin To Retain Bullish Bias If Price Holds Above $114K — Here’s Why

6 days ago
Bitcoin LTH Profitability Outpaces STHs: Is A New Bullish Phase About To Commence?

Bitcoin LTH Profitability Outpaces STHs: Is A New Bullish Phase About To Commence?

6 days ago
Please login to join discussion

Premium Sponsors

Press Releases

  • 上線倒計時:僅剩25天可搶購 Snorter Bot 代幣

    2 days ago
  • 加密錢包掀起發幣熱潮 Best Wallet...

    4 days ago
  • Bitcoin Hyper

    ChatGPT предсказва следващата 1000x...

    4 days ago
  • Snorter надхвърли $4 милиона след...

    5 days ago
  • Experience the Next Chapter of Pickleball with the $PKL Token Presale.

    Experience the Next Chapter of Pickleball with the $PKL...

    1 week ago

Bitcoin news portal providing breaking news, guides, price analysis about decentralized digital money & blockchain technology.

Bitcoin

  • News
  • Price
  • Businesses
  • Acceptance
  • Technology
  • Investment
  • Regulation
  • Reviews

Altcoins

  • News
  • Price
  • Ethereum
  • Ripple
  • Litecoin
  • EOS

Categories

  • Blockchain
  • Security
  • FinTech
  • Technology
  • Trending
  • Breaking News
  • Press Releases
  • How to

About Us

  • Advertise
  • Contact us
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy
© 2025 Bitcoinist.com. All Rights Reserved.
  • Bitcoin
    • News
    • Price
    • Businesses
    • Acceptance
    • Technology
    • Investment
    • Regulation
    • Reviews
    • All Bitcoin News
  • Altcoins
    • News
    • Price
    • Ethereum
    • Ripple
    • Litecoin
    • EOS
    • NAGA
    • All Altcoin News
  • Tech
    • Blockchain
    • Security
    • FinTech
    • Price
      • Bitcoin Price
      • Ethereum Price
      • Binance Coin Price
      • Litecoin Price
  • Industry
    • Industry News
    • Press Releases
  • How to
    • Buy gift cards/mobile Top Ups with Cryptos
    • What Is Bitcoin?
    • Best Bitcoin Wallet
    • Bitcoin vs Ethereum
    • Why Use Blockchain Technology?
    • Bitcoin Cash ABC vs. Bitcoin Cash SV
    • How to Buy Cryptocurrency
    • How to do Crypto Gambling
      • Crypto Casinos
      • Crypto Betting
    • Play Crypto Games
      • Crypto Poker
      • Crypto Slots
      • Crypto Blackjack
      • Crypto Crash Gambling
      • Plinko
    • Bitcoin Mining
    • Best Bitcoin Brokers
    • Best Bitcoin Forex Brokers
    • How To Earn Bitcoin
    • What is Facebook Libra?
    • Ripple and XRP: The Complete Guide
  • Events
  • Play Games
Advertise

© 2025 Bitcoinist. All Rights Reserved.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy Center or Cookie Policy.