{"id":72671,"date":"2026-05-18T03:12:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T03:12:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/buying-gold-bars-with-crypto-leads-to-arrest\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T03:12:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T03:12:54","slug":"buying-gold-bars-with-crypto-leads-to-arrest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/buying-gold-bars-with-crypto-leads-to-arrest\/","title":{"rendered":"Buying Gold Bars With Crypto Leads to Arrest"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News )<\/b><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"@container mb-[25px] rounded-sm overflow-clip py-0.5 pr-0.5 pl-2.5 bg-success-100\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col gap-m overflow-clip rounded-[6px] !bg-success-10 p-3 @[420px]:p-m\">\n<h2 class=\"m-0 flex items-center gap-s text-[19px] !text-[#1c1c1c] md:text-[20px]\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"16\" height=\"10\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 10\" fill=\"none\" class=\"shrink-0 text-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><path d=\"M1 1.5h14\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><path d=\"M1 8.5h10\" stroke=\"currentColor\" stroke-width=\"2.5\" stroke-linecap=\"round\"\/><\/svg><span>Key Takeaways<\/span><\/h2>\n<ul class=\"m-0 flex list-none flex-col gap-m pl-0\">\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Authorities charged Dream Market\u2019s Owe Martin Andresen with 12 money laundering counts for buying gold with flagged cryptocurrency.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">IRS CI\u2019s tracking of $1.7M in gold bought via Bitpay proves dormant darknet crypto can be traced.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"m-0 flex items-start gap-s !text-[#434248]\"><span class=\"mt-2 size-2 shrink-0 rounded-full bg-success-100\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><span class=\"text-body\">Following a May 2026 raid, Andresen will next face up to 20 years in prison for each charge.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Alleged \u2018Dream Market\u2019 Admin Charged For Money Laundering After Buying <span>Gold<\/span> With Flagged <span>Cryptocurrency<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Owe Martin Andresen, a German national, was recently charged with money laundering after leveraging <span>cryptocurrency<\/span> funds from Dream Market, one of the largest <a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/abacus-market-likely-conducts-exit-scam-amid-darknet-instability-reports-trm-labs\/\">darknet <\/a>markets.<\/p>\n<p>According to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-ndga\/pr\/german-citizen-charged-laundering-funds-linked-prominent-darknet-marketplace-dream?bm-verify=AAQAAAAN_____0bDaCeG4lx3fIx_8NuBe9teU-GO9dl3B-yWe4Kfa79QckLTytgwdh1Lm7t86W5cKEunAzisRomCm6BNPVa9Roy4AXvl-KnWTFF7mClp8t5b69hXS89Mj8HDGO91JKUGXOWtpDtosP3b5C6c0hx38k34jBeYY6uZhQouDyv7zl8S3a7-nvF4FFEOaSxk3xBuxxRxphucwsn-90oPI2jZmXdT1iMCSjMCMQu-m8joXs5wXrNyn_9m6vqTbsNoo4NKz4nonVM1UP7aF8NhevUHrSxXwkA3F3_qQ729aPTyGhO0_XywFI8ZTepeAP-hFHseb1iF-8d3SnfuyKFpqtocp9mQSV310P7aJzVzYPWIu-R1d-gAR2AlE7JWWtj5zvM2pZHudV51qQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">press release<\/a> issued on Wednesday by the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office in the Northern District of Georgia, Andresen was charged with using <span>cryptocurrency<\/span> from wallets linked to Dream Market after years of consolidating millions in funds from the market\u2019s activities.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>Authorities were able to pinpoint Andresen\u2019s location after he used a Georgia-based <span>cryptocurrency<\/span> operator, allegedly <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/lopp\/status\/2055987949523861957?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bitpay<\/a>, to settle <span>gold<\/span> purchases with international merchants and sent the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/bitcoin-vs-gold\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">gold<\/a> bars to his home address.<\/p>\n<p>Andresen is believed to be \u201cSpeedstepper,\u201d the main administrator of Dream Market, who moved millions from the defunct market\u2019s wallets to execute these purchases in August 2023. U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg stated that Dream Market facilitated the sale of 90 kilograms of heroin, 450 kilograms of cocaine, 25 kilograms of crack cocaine, 45 kilograms of meth, 13 kilograms of oxycodone, and 36 kilograms of fentanyl using anonymous means and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/a-quick-introduction-to-crypto\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cryptocurrency<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In May 2026, Andresen had his home raided, with $1.7 million of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/bitcoin-vs-gold\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">gold<\/a> bars and over $23,000 in cash seized, in addition to identifying $1.2 million in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.bitcoin.com\/get-started\/a-quick-introduction-to-crypto\/\" class=\"lar_link lar_link_outgoing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">crypto<\/a> and bank accounts tied to Dream Market. He is now facing six counts of international money laundering and six counts of money laundering concealment, with each charge providing up to 20 years in jail.<\/p>\n<p>Kareem Carter, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service \u2013 Criminal Investigation (CI), stressed that <strong>\u201cthe reintegration of long dormant proceeds demonstrates a hard truth: illicit actors may hide in the shadows, but their financial footprints remain. IRS CI is dedicated to following the money, and our Cyber Crimes Unit special agents are dedicated to exposing those who attempt to exploit technology to evade accountability.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bitcoin.com\/darknet-kingpins-fatal-flaw-buying-gold-bars-with-crypto-leads-to-arrest\/\">Source link <\/a><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Originally posted on : Bitcoin News ) Key Takeaways Authorities charged Dream Market\u2019s Owe Martin Andresen with 12 money laundering counts for buying gold with flagged cryptocurrency. IRS CI\u2019s tracking of $1.7M in gold bought via Bitpay proves dormant darknet crypto can be traced. Following a May 2026 raid, Andresen will next face up to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":72672,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72671"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72671"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72671\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crowdfundjunction.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}