The U.S. Department of Justice said it has obtained legal title to more than $400 million in seized bitcoin and other assets tied to Helix, a darknet mixing service.
Court order finalizes forfeiture
The DOJ said Judge Beryl A. Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia entered a final order of forfeiture on Jan. 21.
The order declared forfeited to the government cryptocurrencies, real estate, and other monetary assets previously seized from Larry Dean Harmon, Helix’s operator.
Helix processed 354,468 bitcoin
According to court documents cited by the DOJ, Helix processed at least approximately 354,468 bitcoin between 2014 and 2017.
The department said that amount was equivalent to about $300 million in U.S. dollars at the time of the transactions.
Prosecutors said Helix was used by darknet drug dealers to launder illicit proceeds, and that investigators traced tens of millions of dollars from darknet markets to Helix.
Harmon’s plea and sentence
Harmon pleaded guilty in August 2021 to conspiracy to commit money laundering.
He was sentenced in November 2024 to 36 months in prison, three years of supervised release, a forfeiture money judgment, and forfeiture of seized property.
The DOJ said Helix’s API allowed darknet markets to integrate the mixer into bitcoin withdrawal systems.
The department added that Harmon also ran Grams, a darknet search engine designed to support major markets at the time.
The Justice Department said in its announcement:
“Last week, the government obtained legal title over more than $400 million in seized cryptocurrencies, real estate, and monetary assets tied to the operation of the darknet mixing service, Helix.”
