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. As a mixing service, Helix blended cryptocurrency from multiple users and routed the funds through a series of transactions designed to obscure the funds’ sources, destinations, and owners.
The United States previously seized the assets from Larry Dean Harmon, the operator of Helix, which processed transactions involving over $300 million worth of cryptocurrency from 2014 to 2017. Harmon pleaded guilty in August 2021 to conspiracy to commit money laundering and was sentenced in November 2024 to 36 months’ in prison, three years of supervised release, a forfeiture money judgment, and forfeiture of seized property. On Jan. 21, Judge Beryl A. Howell of the District Court for the District of Columbia entered a final order of forfeiture, declaring the assets forfeited to the government.
According to court documents, Helix was one of the most popular mixing services on the darknet and was highly sought after by online drug dealers seeking to launder their illicit profits. Helix processed at least approximately 354,468 bitcoin – the equivalent of approximately $300 million in U.S. dollars at the time of the transactions – on behalf of its customers. Much of those cryptocurrency were coming from or going to darknet drug markets. Harmon retained a percentage of these transactions as his commissions and fees for operating Helix.
Harmon designed Helix and darknet search engine, Grams, to connect to or otherwise support all of the major darknet markets at the time. Helix’s Application Program Interface (API) enabled darknet markets to integrate Helix directly into their bitcoin withdrawal systems. Investigators traced tens of millions of dollars from darknet markets to Helix.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro for the District of Columbia; Chief of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Guy Ficco; and Assistant Director Brett Leatherman of the FBI’s Cyber Division made the announcement.
The IRS-CI Cyber Crimes Unit and FBI Washington Field Office investigated the case, with valuable assistance provided by the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio.
The Attorney General’s Ministry of Belize and the Belize Police Department provided essential support for the investigation, coordinated through U.S. Embassy Belmopan. The investigation was coordinated with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
Trial Attorneys C. Alden Pelker of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and Christopher B. Brown of the National Security Division’s National Security Cyber Section (formerly of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Blaylock Jr. of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia handled the case.
CCIPS investigates and prosecutes cybercrime in coordination with domestic and international law enforcement agencies, often with assistance from the private sector. Since 2020, CCIPS has secured the conviction of over 180 cybercriminals and court orders for the return of over $350 million in victim funds.