The case
When selling Bitcoin becomes a federal money-transmission case.
Freeman sold bitcoin directly to thousands of customers and operated vending machines while advocating financial privacy. Prosecutors said his business evaded required registration and safeguards, served fraudsters, concealed income, and knowingly participated in money laundering. Freeman’s supporters say he screened customers, stopped scams when he detected them, relied on legal guidance, and was blamed for crimes committed by people from whom his customers were buying bitcoin.
Freeman was convicted in December 2022 and sentenced in October 2023. The trial judge acquitted him on one substantive money-laundering count. The remaining convictions and 96-month sentence were affirmed, and Supreme Court review was denied.
Prosecutors said Freeman ran an unlicensed money-services business, concealed its nature from banks, failed to follow anti-money-laundering rules, evaded taxes, and knowingly facilitated transactions connected to fraud.
Supporters say Freeman was never convicted of fraud, took meaningful precautions, reasonably believed his activity did not require licensing, and was punished for protecting privacy and refusing to treat every customer as a suspect.
Editorial note: This is defense-centered advocacy. Court outcomes, government allegations, defense arguments, and family testimony are labeled separately. Bonnie Freeman’s quotations and account of the raid derive from the EotS event transcript and should be checked against the final recording before publication.