CUs, Banks Allegedly Used for Illegal $10 Million Virtual Currency Exchange Business

A six-person New Hampshire crime ring allegedly scammed credit unions and banks into opening accounts claiming they represented religious organizations such as the Crypto Church of NH, the Church of the Invisible Hand and the Reformed Satanic Church.

In reality, the phony churches were fronts for operating accounts to support an illegal $10 million virtual currency exchange business, federal prosecutors alleged in a 20-felony count indictment on Monday filed in U.S. District Court in Concord, N.H.

Since 2016, the six suspects operated a business that enabled customers throughout the nation to exchange more than $10 million in flat currency for virtual currency, charging a fee for their service. One of the suspects, Ian Freeman, 40, of Keene, N.H., was alleged to have received more than $5 million from running this alleged financial crimes enterprise, according to the indictment.

“We’re certainly looking forward to confronting the charges,” Freeman’s attorney, Mark L. Sisti, said. “It’s a rather unique indictment [with] a lot of first impression issues that we are looking forward to litigating. I can tell you categorically that Ian is maintaining his innocence and that he is looking forward to a trial.”

Using websites as well as operating virtual currency ATMs in New Hampshire, the accused allegedly operated the virtual currency exchange business in violation of federal anti-money laundering laws and regulations.

According to the indictment, the victimized financial institutions included the $4.5 billion Service Credit Union in Portsmouth, Cheshire County Federal Credit Union in Keene (a division of GFA Federal Credit Union), the $601 million GFA Federal Credit Union in Gardner, Mass., the $13.8 billion First Tech Federal Credit Union in San Jose, Calif., Wells Fargo, TD Bank, JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America. The co-conspirators allegedly used these credit union and bank accounts to commit 14 wire fraud incidents via a telephone call or email.

The suspects were arrested during a coordinated law enforcement action on Tuesday.

In addition to Freeman, Colleen Fordham, 60, of Alstead, Renee Spinella, 23, of Derry, Andrew Spinella, 35, of Derry and Nobody (formerly Richard Paul), 52, of Keene and Aria DiMezzo, 34, of Keene were charged with conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.

Freeman, Fordham, the Spinellas and Nobody were also charged with wire fraud and participating in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Freeman was also charged with money laundering and operating a continuing financial crimes enterprise. The indictment also charged Freeman and DiMezzo with operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.

The six accused conspirators allegedly told credit unions that accounts would be used to receive church donations and for outreach. Moreover, federal prosecutors alleged that Freeman and others instructed their customers to lie to credit unions and banks about the virtual currency transactions they were executing.

“Specifically, they instructed customers to conceal from financial institutions the fact that the customers were purchasing virtual currency. and in certain cases, to state falsely that payments were church donations for the purpose of purchasing rare coins,” federal prosecutors wrote in the indictment.

Freeman, Fordham, the Spinellas, Nobody and DiMezzo pleaded not guilty to the charges in federal court on Tuesday.

A lawyer representing Renee Spinella declined to comment. Attorneys representing four other defendants did not respond to CU Times’ request for comment.