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Romance scam victims tricked into buying Bitcoin are getting some restitution on the eve of Valentine’s Day, with an order instructing Free Keene’s Ian Freeman to pay them $3.5 million.

The restitution order, issued by United States District Court Judge Joseph Laplante, caps the legal case against the colorful libertarian activist and Free State Project evangelist.

“Ian Freeman’s money laundering business caused many vulnerable people unnecessary anguish. Nothing will ever take away the pain he caused these victims, but I am grateful that the dedicated prosecution team on this case was able to make many of them financially whole,” United States Attorney Jane Young said. “It is rare for victims of romance scams and other international fraud schemes to have their money returned to them because of the anonymity that businesses like Ian Freeman’s offer fraudsters. I urge everyone to protect themselves and their older loved ones by learning the indicators of these types of scams so that you are better prepared to prevent being victimized.”

Freeman is already serving a nine-year prison sentence after his conviction on federal charges of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, money laundering, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business, and income tax evasion. He moved more than $10 million through his exchanges, according to prosecutors.

Though he never took a direct role in swindling the mostly elderly lonely heart victims, Freeman’s Bitcoin businesses facilitated the thefts, prosecutors alleged. Freeman’s crypto exchanges were an integral part of the cons operated by several different scammers, as the conmen directed victims to buy Bitcoin from Freeman.

Freeman operated his crypto exchanges in a way that attracted criminals, and prosecutors argued, all while charging higher than normal fees. He didn’t register his exchanges with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network as required by law, he disabled the “know your customer” features on his Bitcoin kiosks, and he made sure customers did not tell him what they did with their Bitcoin, according to prosecutors.

Now, Freeman will have to pay restitution to 29 of the romance scam victims who used his service, victims like Rebecca Viar. 

“Ian Freeman was the planner and instigator of this entire scheme,” Viar said in court last year.

Viar, an elderly widow, was ripped off by an online romance scammer known as Michael Glenn Wilson. The crook, who has so far not been charged, used Freeman’s BitCoin exchanges to facilitate the crimes, according to prosecutors.

In Viar’s case, she emptied her savings account, cashed out her insurance policy, took out loans, and even sold her dead husband’s truck. Again and again, Wilson didn’t have her send the money to him but instead instructed her to go to Freeman. Through one of Freeman’s many exchanges, Viar bought Bitcoin that was then deposited into a digital wallet Wilson would empty.

Freeman tried to claim he was, in fact, another victim of the scammers while alternately saying he had no responsibility to the women who lost their savings to romance scammers.

According to Freeman’s telling, he was simply operating the Shire Free Church dedicated to spreading the Good News about Bitcoin. The victims of romance scams and other confidence tricks who started buying Bitcoin from his exchanges were trained by their scammers to lie to Freeman to get around his security system, making him an unwitting accomplice to the scams, he claimed in court last year.

“I’m sorry those people were taken advantage of, and I couldn’t stop them all,” Freeman said.

Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division, said Freeman cannot avoid his responsibility anymore.

“While no amount of money can make up for the emotional toll Mr. Freeman’s actions have inflicted, it does ensure that he has been held both criminally and financially responsible for what he did. The FBI will never stop working to shut down fraud schemes like this one to protect older folks and help them hang on to their hard-earned money.”

Freeman, whose birth name is Ian Bernard, was one of the early settlers in New Hampshire as part of the libertarian movement known as the Free State Project, though he’s no longer part of it. The Free State Project distanced itself from Freeman in 2014 after his repeated public statements in favor of lowering the age of consent for legal sexual activity.

After getting booted from the FSP, Freeman founded the Free Keene community that’s home to former gubernatorial candidate Nobody, originally Rich Paul; Aria DiMezzo, the self-identified “Trans, Satanic, Anarchist” who ran for Cheshire County Sheriff as a Republican; and Chris Cantwell, the alt-right podcaster known as the Crying Nazi.

Both Nobody and DiMezzo ended up pleading guilty for their roles in Freeman’s Bitcoin empire. Cantwell was recently released from federal prison after he was found guilty of threatening another online white supremacist. Cantwell is currently back in New Hampshire and trying to revive his online media career.

After selling Bitcoin to dozens of elderly victims of online romance scams, Free Keene’s Ian Freeman agreed to a restitution deal with federal prosecutors.

A hearing set for Monday in the U.S. District Court in Concord was canceled at the last minute as Freeman’s legal team and federal prosecutors came to terms. Mark Sisti, Freeman’s lawyer, declined to comment on the deal.

“Cannot discuss at this time,” Sisti said.

Judge Joseph LaPlante was considering an order that Freeman pay back millions to the scam victims who bought Bitcoin from Freeman and his cryptocurrency exchanges as part of the romance scams. Evidence about Freeman’s role in the scams was expected to be part of Monday’s hearing. 

Freeman is already serving a nine-year prison sentence on convictions for operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, money laundering, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business, and income tax evasion. He moved more than $10 million through his exchanges, according to prosecutors.

Rebecca Viar and other victims told LaPlante last year that Freeman’s exchanges were central to the scams that robbed them of their savings, trust, and dignity.

“Ian Freeman was the planner and instigator of this entire scheme,” Viar told LaPlante in September.

Viar, an elderly widow, was ripped off by an online romance scammer known as Michael Glenn Wilson. The crook, who has so far never been charged, used Freeman’s Bitcoin exchanges to facilitate the crimes, according to prosecutors.

In Viar’s case, she emptied her savings account, cashed out her insurance policy, took out loans, and even sold her dead husband’s truck. She sent all that money right to Freeman, she told LaPlante. Again and again, Wilson didn’t have her send the money to him but instead instructed her to go to Freeman. Through one of Freeman’s many exchanges, Viar bought Bitcoin that was then deposited into a digital wallet Wilson could access.

Prosecutors have argued Freeman either knew or, at best, actively worked to not know that he was facilitating crimes with his cryptocurrency transactions. Freeman was known throughout the Bitcoin community for charging higher fees than other market operators and for asking fewer questions, prosecutors have said.

When he was sentenced in October, Freeman claimed he was tricked by the scammers just like women like Viar.

“I was also a victim of the scammers,” Freeman told LaPlante.

According to Freeman’s telling, he was simply operating the Shire Free Church dedicated to spreading the Good News about Bitcoin when the victims of romance scams and other confidence tricks started buying Bitcoin from his exchange. Those victims were trained by their scammers to lie to Freeman to get around his security system, making him an unwitting accomplice to the scams, he claimed.

“I’m sorry those people were taken advantage of, and I couldn’t stop them all,” Freeman said. 

Assistant United States Attorney Georgiana MacDonald told LaPlante that Freeman was a manipulative liar who knew exactly what he was doing when he set up his Bitcoin exchange. 

“He is an expert conman who has a spin for everything and who executed a very clever scheme,” MacDonald said.

It’s not all bad news for Freeman. His request to serve his federal sentence in a prison close to Keene was granted last week. Freeman’s wife and friends are still in the Keene area.

Freeman, whose original name is Ian Bernard, was one of the early evangelists for the libertarian movement known as the Free State Project, though he’s no longer part of it. The Free State Project distanced itself from Freeman in 2014 after his repeated public statements in favor of lowering the age of consent for legal sexual activity.

After getting booted from the Free State, Freeman founded the Free Keene community that’s home to former gubernatorial candidate Nobody (born “Rich Paul”); Aria DiMezzo, the self-identified “Trans, Satanic, Anarchist” who ran for Cheshire County sheriff as a Republican; and Chris Cantwell, the alt-right podcaster known as the Crying Nazi.

Both Nobody and DiMezzo ended up pleading guilty for their roles in Freeman’s Bitcoin operation. Cantwell was recently released from federal prison after he was found guilty of threatening another online white supremacist. Freeman distanced himself from Cantwell when Cantwell began espousing violent, alt-right rhetoric. Cantwell is currently out of prison, back in New Hampshire, and trying to revive his online media career. 

Libertarian activist Ian Freeman is hoping to draw a ‘get out of jail free’ card now that he is serving his eight-year prison sentence for his Bitcoin money laundering conviction.

Freeman’s attorneys have filed a notice of appeal with the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, signaling they plan to challenge the state’s evidence as well as the financial regulation laws used by prosecutors.

A jury found Freeman guilty last year on eight felony counts, including conspiracy to launder money obtained through wire fraud connected to his Bitcoin exchange. His stiff prison sentence is due to the fact Freeman was laundering money for internet romance scammers. 

Many elderly victims were instructed by their scammers to buy Bitcoin directly from Freeman. Freeman took a 10 to 15 percent commission, and the scammers could then anonymously take the digital currency, leaving the victims broke and heartbroken.

Over a few years, prosecutors said, Freeman laundered millions for the criminals while knowingly aiding their crimes. Freeman advertised his services and discretion as he set up churches and bank accounts to keep the money coming in. At one point, he even advertised he could work with Nigerian currency, the naira.

Prosecutors with the United States Attorney’s Office wanted to put Freeman away for over 20 years, while his lawyers asked for three years at his sentencing hearing this month. United States District Court Judge Joseph LaPlante opted for a 96-month sentence.

LaPlante told Freeman’s legal team they would unlikely get the sentence overturned or greatly reduced on appeal. 

“I can’t see that happening,” LaPlante said.

Freeman was arrested in 2021 when federal agents raided his home and businesses associated with his BitCoin exchange. Five other people arrested along with Freeman either had charges dropped or took plea deals, resulting in minimal prison sentences. 

Aria DiMezzo, 35, was sentenced to 18 months in prison after she took a plea deal earlier this year. Rich Paul (AKA “Nobody”), 56, Renee Spinella, 28, and Andrew Spinella, 37, all pleaded guilty and have already served their sentences. 

The sixth suspect, Colleen Fordham, 65, had the charges against her dropped.

Freeman, DiMezzo, and Nobody are all part of the Free Keene collective, an offshoot of the Free State Project. The Free State Project made a show of kicking Freeman out of the movement in 2014 after he repeatedly advocated for lowering the age of consent. 

The Free State Project is the libertarian initiative started by Jason Sorens to influence the state’s government toward libertarian principles. Freeman is also an advocate of seceding from the United States of America.

At the trial of alleged FTX fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried on Monday, former executive Nishad Singh admitted to being a “straw donor” who helped SBF distribute millions of stolen dollars to Democratic candidates and committees across the country.

Among them: All four members of New Hampshire’s federal delegation and the state Democratic Party (NHDP).

And according to the available records at the OpenSecrets website, all four candidates still have stolen cash on hand.

“My role was to click a button,” Singh testified. Those “clicks” included $5,000 to the Granite State Democratic Party and $2,900 to each of New Hampshire’s four congressional Democrats last year. And SBF funneled thousands more to Hassan and the NHDP during the hotly-contested 2022 campaign.

In fact, Hassan accepted a total of $30,800 between her campaign and her PAC from Bankman-Fried, while the NHDP collected $20,000. That ranks the two as number five and six on the list of Democrats and Democratic organizations to total campaign cash from FTX and its affiliates.

And those aren’t the only problematic donations for New Hampshire Democrats. Hassan also received a $10,000 contribution last year from disgraced U.S. Senate Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), currently facing bribery charges after cash and gold bars were found in his home. Hassan has declined to return the money or answer any questions about it.

Not to be outdone, Shaheen’s PAC gave Menendez a $5,000 donation just three days before his more recent indictment. Her staff blames a “clerical error” but declines to say if she’s going to ask that the money be returned.

“It’s another colorful data point of the bigger picture that a culture of brazenness has taken hold,” says Dan McMillan with the campaign finance reform organization Save Democracy In America.

The fact Hassan and Shaheen haven’t made a greater effort to distance themselves from Menendez shows they are now part of a system that largely ignores voters and treats campaign donors and lobbyists as their real constituents, McMillan told NHJournal.

“‘We, the people,’ are now a nuisance, a necessary evil, an obstacle to [politicians] getting done what they need to get done.”

Bankman-Fried wanted to get things done, too. According to this week’s testimony, he saw donating to Democrats as a way to raise his profile, the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Singh said the contributions, largely to center-left recipients, were made in his name for optics purposes. ‘It was useful for my name to be associated with some donations, even if the end recipient understood they were really coming from something else,’ he said.”

McMillan said these are all examples of a system that rewards politicians who can raise the most money. The money gives the politicians greater access to the levers of power, and it buys favorable treatment for the donors, he said. The lax federal regulation of the cryptocurrency market is, in part, a result of donations like the ones Bankman-Fried made, McMillan believes.

Save Democracy In America is promoting a taxpayer-funded campaign system, and McMillan argues it’s necessary because donors have too much power.

“Donors have become the gatekeepers, they are picking the candidates people are allowed to vote for,” McMillan said.

For example. Democratic donors are starving any candidate who might challenge President Joe Biden despite Biden’s deep unpopularity. “Donors all closed ranks and now Democratic voters are not going to have a choice this cycle on a presidential candidate,” McMillan said.

As long as politicians like  Menendez, Hassan, Shaheen, Kuster, and Pappas are incentivized to get money from donors, they will do just that. McMillan wants to use campaign money to leverage power back into the hands of voters. He’s hopeful it will work.

“We’re not a country like any other. This is the only country on Earth that stands for something. Being an American is about ideals,” McMillan said.

All four Democrats have declined to respond to repeated questions about these donations.

Ian Freeman walked into the courtroom Monday to a standing ovation from his libertarian supporters and walked out in handcuffs, facing eight years in federal prison.

What led the former Free State Project leader and self-described peace activist to a prison sentence for the better part of a decade? According to Judge Joseph LaPlante, it was Freeman’s faith in his own libertarian/voluntarist ideas.

“It’s not that the ideology caused the crime, but the ideology caused him to lose perspective,” LaPlante said.

After taking millions of dollars from elderly and desperate people being victimized by online scammers, Ian Freeman told United States District Court Judge Joseph LaPlante that he was a victim in the Bitcoin conspiracy case.

“I was also a victim of the scammers,” Freeman told LaPlante.

According to Freeman’s telling, he was simply operating the Shire Free Church dedicated to spreading the Good News about Bitcoin when the victims of romance scams and other confidence tricks started buying the cybercurrency from his exchange. Those victims were trained by their scammers to lie to Freeman to get around his security system, making him an unwitting accomplice to the scams.

“I’m sorry those people were taken advantage of, and I couldn’t stop them all,” Freeman said. 

But Assistant United States Attorney Georgiana MacDonald told LaPlante that Freeman was a manipulative liar who knew exactly what he was doing when he set up his BitCoin exchange. 

“He is an expert conman who has a spin for everything and who executed a very clever scheme,” MacDonald said.

The state alleged that Freeman set up his Bitcoin exchange using various entities like the Shire Free Church to conceal what he was doing — laundering money for online criminals. He advertised his commitment to “privacy” and even let the world know he would exchange Bitcoin for Nigerian currency. At the same time, Freeman charged exorbitant fees between 10 and 20 percent, enriching himself along the way.

“He knew what he was doing,” MacDonald said. 

Most mainstream cryptocurrency exchanges charge less than one percent for transactions. MacDonald said Freeman bought his Bitcoin through legitimate exchanges with far lower fees. Freeman was open to attracting criminals to his exchange, she said. The scammers would have victims buy Bitcoin directly from Freeman and deposit it in their digital wallets. The scammers would then cash out the Bitcoin, essentially without a trace.

“Why were scam victims from all over the country buying from Ian Freeman?” MacDonald said. 

A jury convicted Freeman on eight felony counts, including conspiracy to launder money obtained through wire fraud, connected to his Bitcoin exchange. Freeman disputed that he knowingly participated in the scams but acknowledged that the jury voted to convict. That meant they either did not like him or did not believe him, Freeman said.

“I have to accept that,” Freeman said.

His wife, Bonnie Freeman, insisted her husband would never hurt anyone. She said that his business was part of his Shire Free Church, which sought to change the world for the better through Bitcoin.

“Bitcoin is sacred to us,” Bonnie Freeman said.

Freeman’s attorneys, Mark Sisti and Richard Guerriero, plan to appeal the convictions.

Freeman started the day facing up to 21 years in prison. But LaPlante said the sentencing range for the case was out of line with the conduct, calling that amount of time unreasonable in this case.

While Freeman was seeking 38 months, or a little more than three years, LaPlante said the 96-month sentence he imposed was appropriate. LaPlante denied Guerrireo and Sisti’s motion to delay the sentence pending the appeal, saying they are unlikely to get the sentence overturned or reduced on appeal.

“I can’t see that happening,” LaPlante said.

Freeman was arrested in 2021 when federal agents raided his home and businesses associated with his Bitcoin exchange. Five other people were arrested along with Freeman in the case, earning the nickname the “Crypto 6” in libertarian circles. All of the other members of the Crypto 6 either had charges dropped or took plea deals, resulting in minimal prison sentences. 

Aria DiMezzo, 35, was sentenced to 18 months in prison after she took a plea deal earlier this year. Rich Paul, 56, Renee Spinella, 28, and Andrew Spinella, 37, all pleaded guilty as well and have served their sentences. Paul was in the group of supporters who filled the courtroom Monday. U.S. Marshals admonished him due to his emotional outbursts in court.

The sixth suspect, Colleen Fordham, 65, had the charges against her dropped.

Freeman, DiMezzo, and Nobody are all part of the Free Keene collective, an offshoot of the Free State Project. The group made a show of kicking Freeman out of the movement in 2014 after he repeatedly advocated for lowering the age of consent.

The Free State Project is a libertarian initiative started by Jason Sorens to overtake the state’s government. Freeman is also an advocate of seceding from the United States.

Free State Project icon Ian Freeman walked into his sentencing hearing in the Warren B. Rudman Courthouse in Concord a hero, but he walked out a couple of hours later labeled a black-souled villain by one of the many alleged victims.

In a courtroom packed with Free Staters, Freeman got two standing ovations at the start of Monday’s proceedings. He had reason to be optimistic as Judge Joseph LaPlante agreed to dismiss one of his money laundering convictions before the hearing started. LaPlante said it was a close call, but there was not sufficient evidence to support the jury’s verdict for that one count.

That was the last positive development for Freeman. Soon, LaPlante decided to hear from some of the women victimized by Freeman’s Bitcoin operations.

“My life, and countless other lives, have been ruined,” Rebecca Viar said.

Freeman is facing years in federal prison, but now thanks to women like Viar, he could face even more. LaPlante halted Monday’s scheduled sentencing hearing in order to consider adding more time to the potential penalty in light of the many elderly women scammed with Freeman’s aid. He’s also considering making Freeman pay up to $3.4 million in restitution. 

A jury convicted Freeman in December on charges of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, money laundering, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business, and income tax evasion.

Freeman argued that he’s a victim of an oppressive government, a martyr for promoting financial liberation from fiat currency. His defense team is still pushing the theory, even after the convictions, claiming the financial laws and regulations used to convict him don’t apply to financial products like Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

But Viar and other women hurt by scammers told a different story. In their version, Freeman was central to the crimes that took advantage of their loneliness, destroyed their finances, stripped them of a secure retirement, and forever took away their trust in other people.

“Ian Freeman was the planner and instigator of this entire scheme,” Viar said.

Viar, an elderly widow, was ripped off by an online romance scammer known as Michael Glenn Wilson. The crook, who has thus far not been charged, used Freeman’s Bitcoin-selling services to facilitate the crimes, according to prosecutors.

In Viar’s case, she emptied her savings account, cashed out her insurance policy, took out loans, and even sold her dead husband’s truck. Rather than send the money directly to Wilson, he conned his alleged victims into buying Bitcoin from Freeman. The Bitcoin was then deposited into a digital wallet Wilson could access.

Karen Miller was planning to retire to Florida with her husband when he died in 2018. Miller still moved to the Sunshine State after her husband’s death, but found herself lonely. She met a man named Jerry Harmon online, and before long she was sending him money.

Miller handed over everything to her online Romeo, to the tune of $300,000. She kept going, too, maxing out credit cards for Harmon. Like Viar, Harmon was instructed to buy Bitcoins directly from Freeman, which Harmon would then access through a digital wallet. Harmon, who has never been caught, even had Miller buying Bitcoin using money from other women. Harmon told her these women were the wives and girlfriends of his employees.

Miller finally stopped when other Harmon victims reached out to her and told her the truth. Now, instead of enjoying her golden years as a Florida retiree, Miller is working at a Publix grocery store.

Freeman’s lawyers, respected criminal defense attorneys Marc Sisti and Richard Guerrero, never considered the women victims in this case. Freeman was caught for failing to adhere to financial and banking regulations. He was never accused of being a scammer.

Prosecutors have argued Freeman either knew, or at best actively worked to not know, he was facilitating crimes with his Bitcoin transactions. Freeman was known throughout the Bitcoin community for charging higher fees than other market operators, and for asking fewer questions, prosecutors have said.

But LaPlante implied Monday Freeman wasn’t merely laundering money for the scammers, he was taking a role in the scam. Freeman was taking money from the victims and then sending it to the criminals.

LaPlante said it is likely he will rule that Freeman needs to pay restitution to the many scam victims who bought Bitcoin from him. LaPlante also said he would adopt a “vulnerable victim adjustment” to the sentencing guidelines, increasing the range of prison time LaPlante could use for his final sentencing order.

After the hearing, Freeman remained upbeat. He’s still confident of ultimate victory in his caase, even if that means going through the appeals process. Getting one of the money laundering charges dismissed is a good sign, he said.

“Being able to challenge these things after the fact is a nice thing,” Freeman said.

As for the victims like Viar and Miller, Freeman said he has no guilt for what happened to them.

“It seems like they’ve been lied to and told I had something to do with these crimes against them, which I didn’t,” Freeman said. “I didn’t have anything more to do with what happened to them than the bank tellers that sent their life savings away. If anything, our procedures were even more in-depth than what the bank tellers were doing.”

Libertarian activist Ian Freeman was found guilty of several felonies Thursday in the Bitcoin money laundering case. 

Freeman was at the center of a Bitcoin sales and donation operation that used his churches, such as the Shire Free Church in Keene, and hubs to launder money from cyber criminals, according to prosecutors.

The jury took a few hours Wednesday and Thursday to find Freeman guilty on charges of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, money laundering, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business, and income tax evasion.

Freeman is set for a sentencing hearing in April. He faces up to eight years in prison.

Freeman was the lone Crypto 6 defendant to go to trial after four others took plea deals. Charges were dropped against the fifth. He was arrested during a March 2020 raid at his Keene home along with co-defendants Aria DiMezzo and Nobody, formerly known as Rich Paul. Freeman’s ex-girlfriend Renee Spinella and her husband, Andrew Spinella, were arrested at their home in Derry. Alstead resident Colleen Fordham, 63, was also arrested as part of the bust.

Prosecutors dropped the charges against Fordham early in the case. DiMezzo, Nobody, and the Spinella all took plea agreements that netted them light sentences.

Freeman was accused of taking in millions of dollars through Bitcoin exchanges and Bitcoin ATMs with the help of DiMezzo and the others. Freeman reportedly used personal bank accounts and accounts for made-up churches like the Shire Free Church, the Crypto Church of New Hampshire, the Church of the Invisible Hand, and DiMezzo’s Reformed Satanic Church, in order to conduct the bitcoin businesses. He allegedly lied to banks in opening accounts for his churches and other businesses and got the others to open accounts on his behalf, according to court records. Part of Freeman’s operation was helping cyber criminals swindle money from lonely victims, according to the indictments.

Freeman, DiMezzo, and Nobody are all part of the Free Keene collective, an offshoot of the Free State Project. The Free State Project made a show of kicking Freeman out of the movement in 2014 after he repeatedly advocated for lowering the age of consent. The Free State Project is a Libertarian initiative to overtake the state’s government. Freeman is an advocate of seceding from the United States of America.

Ian Freeman got an early Christmas gift from federal prosecutors as 17 of the 25 felony charges against him were dropped days before his trial was set to begin. 

“While I am happy to see the bulk of the charges in my case go away, I’m sad for my friends who were intimidated into wrongful convictions for victimless ‘crimes’ on charges that would likely have been dropped anyway,” Freeman said on his blog over the weekend.

Freeman is the last of the so-called ‘Crypto 6’ defendants. Four of his co-defendants took plea deals. The fifth had all charges dropped. His trial is set to begin this week in the United States District Court in Concord, with jury selection starting Tuesday morning. Freeman’s attorney, Mark Sisti, told NHJournal he hopes to give his opening arguments in the case Tuesday afternoon.

Freeman was facing a potential of more than 400 years in prison if convicted of the original 25 charges. Prosecutors dropped all 12 wire fraud counts, three money laundering charges, as well as several other counts including conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud as well as continuing a financial crime enterprise.

The remaining eight counts include conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, money laundering, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and four counts of attempting to evade taxes.

Freeman was arrested in a March 2020 raid at his Keene home along with co-defendants Aria DiMezzo and Nobody, formerly known as Rich Paul. Freeman’s ex-girlfriend Renee Spinella and her husband, Andrew Spinella, were arrested at their homes in Derry. Alstead resident Colleen Fordham was also arrested as part of the bust.

Prosecutors dropped the charges against Fordham early in the case. DiMezzo, Nobody, and the Spinellas ended up taking plea agreements that netted them light sentences. Freeman said on his Free Keene blog taking a plea is always a mistake, and that his friends succumbed to pressure from aggressive prosecutors.

“They stack a ton of charges against you, then threaten to stack even more if you don’t tap out. A few years of probation and a felony starts looking really good compared to 30 years in prison, so it’s understandable why people will take a plea, even though they didn’t actually commit the crime of which they are accused,” Freeman wrote. “The prosecutors love it as they rack up conviction after conviction, ruining innocent peoples’ lives and bolstering the prosecutors’ careers. Plus, they never have to bother preparing for and going to trial. It’s super easy for them and it almost always works.”

Freeman said his friends are now stuck with the convictions on their records, though they likely could have fought the charges and won in court.

“Now they are saddled with felony convictions for the rest of their lives for something that sounds really bad. The reality is, the accusations were simply that they’d lied to a bank, and that it was not even to try to scam the bank out of money, but only to do things like keep an account open,” Freeman wrote.

Freeman is accused of taking in millions of dollars through Bitcoin exchanges and Bitcoin ATMs with the help of DiMezzo and the others. Freeman reportedly used personal bank accounts and accounts for made-up churches like the Shire Free Church, the Crypto Church of New Hampshire, the Church of the Invisible Hand, and DiMezzo’s Reformed Satanic Church in order to conduct their bitcoin businesses. He allegedly lied to banks in opening accounts for his churches and other businesses and got the others to open accounts on his behalf, according to court records. Part of the operation for Freeman was to help cyber criminals swindle money from lonely victims, according to the indictments.

Freeman, DiMezzo, and Nobody are all part of the Free Keene collective, an offshoot of the Free State Project. The Free State Project made a show of kicking Freeman out of the movement in 2014 after he repeatedly advocated for lowering the age of consent. The Free State Project is a Libertarian initiative to overtake the state’s government. Freeman is an advocate of seceding from the United States of America. 

Keith Murphy, the NHGOP’s hand-picked candidate for state Senate, could end up explaining to a jury his business relationship with the defendants in the infamous Crypto 6 money laundering case.

Ian Freeman, the last of the Keene Crypto 6 defendants headed to trial, faces more than 30 federal felony counts for his Bitcoin business operation, which included running Bitcoin ATMs in various business locations. One of those ATMs was set up in the Manchester location of Murphy’s Taproom, a restaurant owned by the senate candidate.

Freeman’s attorney says he may call Murphy as a witness for the defense.

“All I was doing was providing a little wall space for the machine,” Murphy told NH Journal.

Murphy, a former GOP state representative, was picked by state GOP Chair Stephen Stepanek to replace state Rep. Michael Yakubovich (R-Hooksett) on the November ballot for the District 16 race. Yakubovich dropped out just days after the September 13 primary due to health issues.

“It’s not how you want to be in the Senate, but that’s how it goes,” Murphy said.

Federal law enforcement agents seized the Murphy’s Taproom ATM during the March 2021 raids of several homes and businesses connected to Freeman’s activities. Freeman is accused of operating a multimillion money laundering scheme that helped facilitate online scammers, according to court documents.

Murphy said he has not been in contact with any federal law enforcement agency since the machine was removed.

Freeman’s criminal defense attorney, Mark Sisti, said Murphy may be called as a witness, but it is too early to say definitively. “I don’t know yet,” Sisti said.

 Murphy said he has not been contacted about being a potential witness.

Freeman has maintained he did nothing wrong selling the cryptocurrency through his churches and is adamant that he wants his day in court. Contacted last week, Freeman confirmed he had one of his Shire Free Church Bitcoin ATMs in Murphy’s Taproom since March of 2016.

Murphy said he was never directly involved in exchanging cash for Bitcoin or vice versa. The ATM was in the restaurant as a courtesy for some of his customers, he said.

“We had customers who wanted to pay with Bitcoin,” Murphy said. “This provided a way for them to convert their own money to Bitcoin easily.”

Murphy said he does not remember the exact details of the arrangement he had with Freeman, but said he did not make any money from the machine.

“Occasionally, they would hand me a little money to pay for the electricity. But there was no set fee for the arrangement,” Murphy said.

Murphy’s recollection runs counter to Freeman’s understanding of his own business. According to Freeman, his ATMs brought in money for the host business through a percentage of the total transactions.

“The Shire Free Church is not a business, but we obviously had to compensate our venues for the space/power/internet they provided,” Freeman said. “All our venues received one percent of gross sales from their machine. Many crypto vending machine operators only pay a flat fee per month to their venues. Our venues were very pleased with our arrangement as they did very well on busy months.”

Freeman took in millions of dollars through his Bitcoin exchanges and Bitcoin ATMs, according to court records. He allegedly used personal bank accounts and accounts for made-up churches like the Shire Free Church, the Crypto Church of NH, the Church of the Invisible Hand, and the Reformed Satanic Church, to operate his Bitcoin empire. Part of the scheme Freeman ran helped cyber criminals swindle money from victims of lonely heart scams, according to prosecutors.

Business was good and the government alleges Freeman has secreted away millions of dollars in cash and cryptocurrency.

Four of the other Crypto 6 defendants, Renee Spinella, Andrew Spinella, Aria DiMezzo, and Nobody (also known as Rick Paul), have taken plea deals. The fifth suspect, Colleen Fordham, had her charges dropped earlier this year.

Federal prosecutors unsealed a new 32-count superseding indictment Tuesday against Free Keene’s Ian Freeman and Aria DiMezzo, the last remaining suspects in the “Crypto 6” money laundering Bitcoin criminal case.

The new indictments alleged Freeman and DiMezzo engaged in money laundering, wire fraud, conspiracy, and tax evasion. Freeman and DiMezzo are the only conspirators named in these new indictments, bought a week after three of the so-called Crypto 6 entered into plea agreements.

Renee Spinella, 25, her husband Andrew Spinella, 36, and Nobody, formerly known as Rich Paul, 54, all took plea deals that will bring them minimal prison time, and no jail time for Andrew Spinella. Prosecutors also dropped the indictment against Colleen Fordham, 62, leaving Freeman, 42, and DiMezzo, 35, as the only remaining suspects.

Renee Spinella is Freeman’s ex-girlfriend, and Nobody is a long-time member of Freeman’s Keene libertarian activist group.

Freeman’s attorney, Mark Sisti, could not be reached Tuesday evening. Richard Guerriero, DiMezzo’s attorney, said Tuesday night his client maintains her innocence.

Aria DiMezzo

“Aria DiMezzo maintains her position that she did nothing wrong and should not be prosecuted. She looks forward to a trial before a jury of New Hampshire citizens,” Guerriero said.

Freeman was asked Tuesday night about his former friends and associates possibly testifying against him, but he said he does not think that will happen.

“I don’t know what, if any, evidence there is that people are talking to the Feds or planning to testify against me. I’ve heard the opposite,” Freeman said in an email.

According to former First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire David Vicinanzo, the superseding indictments likely mean people are talking and providing new evidence to prosecutors.

“It most likely reflects that the people who pleaded are cooperating, have been interviewed, and have been deemed credible. Not only do the prosecutors have the testimony of the new witnesses, but probably additional documentary or other corroborative evidence derived from the insider testimony,” Vicinanzo said. “So, it looks like the Feds are loading up on the remaining defendants or defendants. It’s a common pattern in the federal system. We did it many times when I was there.”

If Vicinanzo is correct, and people close to Freeman are now witnesses for the prosecution, Freeman said he is not upset with them.

“Even if my friends are talking, no I don’t feel betrayed. The Feds are very scary and threatened my co-defendants with more charges if they didn’t take a plea deal. This is the typical strategy of the Feds, and it nearly always succeeds. It does not mean those who’ve pled guilty actually did anything wrong or harmed anyone. It simply means they were under duress and afraid of the unknown,” Freeman said. “I don’t blame them for doing what they felt they needed to do. Whatever it is they might say would only be the truth, that we were not scamming anyone, and no one was harmed. My religion includes the practice of forgiveness.”

According to the indictments, Freeman and DiMezzo brought in millions of dollars through their Bitcoin exchanges and Bitcoin ATMs. They also used personal bank accounts and accounts for made-up churches like the Shire Free Church, the Crypto Church of New Hampshire, the Church of the Invisible Hand, and the Reformed Satanic Church in order to conduct their bitcoin businesses. The pair allegedly lied to banks in opening their accounts and got others like Nobody and the Spinella’s to open accounts on their behalf, according to court records.

Part of the operation for Freeman was to help cybercriminals swindle money from lonely victims, according to the indictments.

“As part of the unlawful scheme, the defendant Ian Freeman knowingly processed and profited from numerous virtual currency transactions conducted on behalf of individuals who were defrauded by illegal scams, most commonly so-called ‘romance scams.’ By knowingly permitting defrauded individuals to exchange fiat currency for virtual currency including Bitcoin, Freeman and others facilitated the transfer of illicit proceeds to the executors of the illegal scams, while generating revenue for the virtual currency exchange business.,” the new indictments state.

Freeman is a long-time libertarian activist who first moved to New Hampshire as part of the Free State Project. The official Free State Project distanced itself from Freemen in 2014 when he repeatedly used his radio show to call for lowering the age of consent. However, Freeman has taken part in Free State events since his 2014 ouster, such as the annual libertarian PorcFest.

The indictment states federal officials plan to seize all of Freeman’s Bitcoins, as well as $180,000 in cash and other currencies taken during the March 2021 raids at his home in Keene.