Jury Selection Delayed in Bitcoin Exchange Trial

A federal trial tied to the now-defunct Florida bitcoin exchange Coin.mx has been delayed.

AccessTimeIconFeb 14, 2017 at 1:36 p.m. UTC
Updated Aug 18, 2021 at 5:46 p.m. UTC

Presented By Icon

Election 2024 coverage presented by

Stand with crypto

A federal trial tied to the now-defunct Florida bitcoin exchange Coin.mx has been delayed.

Yesterday, the court was set to begin jury selection for the trial of Yuri Lebedev – one of the co-operators of Coin.mx alongside Anthony Murgio, who plead guilty to three charges early last month – and Trevon Gross, a pastor who was accused of helping Coin.mx and its backers to take control of a New Jersey credit union in exchange for bribes. Gross was originally charged last March.

  • Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
    13:18
    Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
  • Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
    05:10
    Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
  • The first video of the year 2024
    04:07
    The first video of the year 2024
  • The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
    40:07
    The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
  • Now, according to reports, Judge Alison Nathan has delayed jury selection by a day after the prosecution introduced a new witness, who was said to have information related to Gross’s activities.

    Judge Nathan ultimately opted not to allow the witness, punting jury selection to 14th February.

    Lebedev, along with Murgio, was initially arrested in mid-2015, accused of running an unlicensed money transmission business in Florida. While related court filings don’t explicitly draw the connection, prosecutors have tied Coin.mx’s actions to a broader cybercriminal scheme involving a series of high-profile hacks in the last several years.

    The most notable of these was a breach of Wall Street giant JPMorgan Chase, resulting in a data compromise for tens of millions of customer accounts. Prosecutors have also alleged that that Coin.mx functioned as a money conduit for the cybercrime scheme, using the New Jersey credit union – since shuttered by regulators – as a means to discreetly move funds.

    It’s not immediately clear when the trial itself will begin. Murgio is expected to face sentencing in June.

    Image via Shutterstock

    Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information have been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of the Bullish group, which owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish group equity-based compensation. Bullish was incubated by technology investor Block.one.


    Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.