California Resident Admits Running Bitcoin Exchange to Launder Drug Money

A California man agreed to plead guilt to federal charges stemming from his money laundering business and drug trafficking operation. He admitted exchanging up to $25 million in cryptocurrency and cash from darkweb drug traffickers and others looking to launder money. Kalra allowed his customers to use his Bitcoin ATM kiosk.

According to the United States Attorney’s Office of the Central District of California, this is the first federal money laundering case involving a Bitcoin ATM kiosk.

Kunal Kalra, 25 – who was also known as “Kumar,” “shecklemayne” and “coinman” – was charged today in a four-count criminal information filed in United States District Court and is expected to make his initial court appearance next month. Pursuant to a plea agreement also filed today, Kalra agreed to plead guilty to four felonies: distribution of methamphetamine, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, laundering of monetary instruments, and failure to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program.

Kalra also admitted that in 2017 he exchanged approximately $400,000 in cash for Bitcoin for an undercover agent who contacted him online and later met him in person on multiple occasions at a coffee shop in Los Angeles. The undercover agent told Kalra that his virtual currency were proceeds of drug trafficking, and Kalra continued with various transactions, according to the plea agreement.