United States v. Costanzo, No. 18-10291 (9th Cir. 2020)
Annotate this CaseThe Ninth Circuit affirmed defendant's conviction of five counts of money laundering, holding that a reasonable trier of fact could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that the money laundering transactions, in which payment was made via bitcoin, affected interstate commerce in some way or to some degree. In this case, the transfer involved the use of an Internet or cellular network connected Personal Computer Device (PCD) to transfer bitcoin (together with the digital code necessary to unlock the bitcoin) to the digital wallet of another Internet or cellular network connected PCD.
Court Description: Criminal Law. Affirming a conviction on five counts of money laundering, the panel held that a reasonable trier of fact could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that the money- laundering transactions at issue, in which payment was made via bitcoin, affected interstate commerce in some way or to some degree, as required under 18 U.S.C. § 1956. The panel dealt with other issues in a separate memorandum disposition.
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