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CONCORD — Andrew Spinella is skipping prison as part of the plea agreement he entered in the Keene Crypto 6 money laundering case.

Spinella, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on Tuesday. Two other federal conspiracy charges are being dropped as part of the deal.

While the agreement does not explicitly require Spinella to testify against alleged ringleader Ian Freeman, the charge itself implicates Freeman in a scheme to defraud banks.

Spinella pleaded guilty to a wire fraud count stating he created bank accounts in his own name, and then gave control of these accounts over to Freeman in order to allow Freeman to use the accounts to sell Bitcoin. Assistant United States Attorney Georgiana MacDonald told Judge Joseph Laplante the government has text messages between Andrew Spinella and his wife, Renee Spinella, detailing the scheme.

MacDonald said Renee Spinella explained to her husband in the texts similar bank accounts she opened for Freeman had been closed because of banking laws.

Laplante asked Andrew Spinella point-blank if he was guilty during Tuesday’s hearing.

“I feel with everything going on, if I were to take it to trial, it would make it far worse,” he told the judge.

Laplante pressed Spinella on his guilt, saying he could not accept a guilty plea if Spinella did think he was guilty of the crime charged.

“I don’t mean guilty in some cosmic sense,” Laplante said.

Spinella continued that it would be worse for him if he took the case to trial and if he was tried with the five other defendants. Laplante again asked if he was guilty.

“There’s too much evidence that says that I am,” Spinella said.

Renee Spinella, 25, was also scheduled to enter into a plea agreement, but she did not appear in court Tuesday. She was reportedly feeling unwell and her hearing is now set for Thursday. Renee Spinella is also currently charged with conspiracy along with Freeman, her ex-boyfriend. Freeman, 42, Colleen Fordham, 62, of Alstead, Nobody (formerly Richard Paul), 54, of Keene, and Aria DiMezzo, 36, of Keene, are all charged with conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business.

Observing Tuesday’s hearing were Freeman’s attorney, Mark Sisti, and DiMezzo’s attorney, Richard Guerriero.

Freeman is a long-time libertarian activist who first moved to New Hampshire as part of the Free State Project. That organization distanced itself from Freemen in 2014 when he repeatedly used his radio show to call for lowering the age of consent.

In 2015, federal agents raided Freeman’s Keene home and seized dozens of computers and other devices as part of an investigation into the alleged possession of child sex abuse images. No charges were ever brought in the case. Freeman filed a lawsuit against the FBI agent who obtained the search warrant last week.

Nobody (Richard Paul) did jail time for a drug conviction in 2014 and has run for both mayor of Keene and governor of New Hampshire. He was held the longest in jail after the money laundering arrest last year, due in part to his threats against law enforcement.

DiMezzo, who describes herself as a trans satanic anarchist, ran unsuccessfully for Cheshire County sheriff as a Republican in 2020.

Freeman and DiMezzo both started churches that the indictments claim they used as part of the $10 million money-laundering scheme. According to court records, since 2016, the defendants have operated a business that enabled criminal customers to exchange over $10 million in fiat currency for virtual currency, charging a fee for their service. They operated their virtual currency exchange business using websites, as well as operating virtual currency ATM machines in New Hampshire.

Prosecutors claim Freeman knew he was laundering ill-gotten money from criminals. The indictment alleges the defendants knowingly operated the virtual currency exchange business in violation of federal anti-money laundering laws and regulations. Additionally, the indictment alleges some defendants opened bank accounts, some in the names of purported religious entities, like DiMezzo’s Satanic Temple.

Agents took dozens of guns and close to $200,000 in cash out of Freeman’s Keene homes during the March 2021 raid when he and the others were arrested. He was estimated to have more than $1.6 million in cryptocurrency at his disposal that authorities know about, according to court records.

Two of the six people charged with laundering money using Bitcoin sales and Granite Stater Ian Freeman’s libertarian churches are taking plea deals, leaving their alleged co-conspirators legally exposed.

Renee Spinella, 25, and her husband Andrew Spinella, 37, both from Derry, filed notices this week in United States District Court in Concord that they plan to change their current not guilty pleas to guilty.

The Spinellas were arrested last year by federal law enforcement agents who were targeting Freeman, 42, and his libertarian activist cohorts based in Keene. Freeman is alleged to have operated a multi-million-dollar money-laundering scheme that used Bitcoin transactions and phony donations to the various churches he and others started to launder money for criminals.

Freeman, the Spinellas, Colleen Fordham, 62, of Alstead, Nobody (formerly Richard Paul), 54, of Keene, and Aria DiMezzo, 36, of Keene, are all charged with conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business. Freeman and the Spinellas are also charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and several other charges.

If the Spinellas are cooperating with authorities, as is typical for such plea agreements, that could spell trouble for Freeman and the other defendants. David Vicinanzo, a former first assistant U.S. Attorney for New Hampshire, said plea deals in conspiracy cases are bad news for the remaining defendants.

“If they are charged together in a common conspiracy, the guilty pleas of some defendants suggest that those defendants will be called as witnesses against the remaining defendants. The ‘code of silence’ may be crumbling, as the government strengthens its case with the information and testimony of insiders who know what happened because they participated,” he said.

Rene Spinella used to be Freeman’s girlfriend and seemingly remained friendly with him after they went their separate ways. The pair even shared ownership of a dog after the split.

While Freeman has denied criminal wrongdoing, the testimony of his former girlfriend and her current husband could prove troubling for his defense.

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 for sexual activity.

In 2015, federal agents raided Freeman’s Keene home and seized dozens of computers and other devices as part of an investigation into the alleged possession of child sex abuse images. No charges were ever brought in the case. Freeman filed a lawsuit last week against the FBI agent who obtained the search warrant.

The defendant named Nobody did jail time for a drug conviction in 2014 and has run for mayor of Keene and governor. He was held the longest in jail after the money laundering arrest last year, due in part to his threats against law enforcement.

DiMezzo, who describes herself as a trans satanic anarchist, ran for Cheshire County sheriff as a Republican in 2020.

Freeman and DiMezzo both started churches that the indictments claim they used as part of the money-laundering scheme. According to the court records, since 2016, the defendants have operated a multi-million business that enabled criminal customers to exchange over ten million dollars in fiat currency for virtual currency, charging a fee for their service. They operated their virtual currency exchange business using websites, as well as operating virtual currency ATMs in New Hampshire.

Prosecutors have said Freeman knew he was laundering ill-gotten money from criminals. The indictment alleges that the defendants knowingly operated the virtual currency exchange business in violation of federal anti-money laundering laws and regulations. Additionally, the indictment alleges that some defendants opened bank accounts in the names of purported religious entities, like DiMezzo’s Satanic Temple.

Agents took dozens of guns and close to $200,000 in cash out of Freeman’s Keene homes during the March 2021 raid. He was estimated to have more than $1.6 million in cryptocurrency at his disposal, according to court records.

Change of plea hearings for the Spinellas are set for Tuesday in Concord.

Libertarian activist and leader of the Free Keene movement, Ian Freeman, wants the FBI to return computers and hard drives taken when agents raided his Keene home as part of a child sex abuse images investigation.

Freeman was never charged in the 2016 investigation. Freeman insists he has been targeted by federal agents for years because of his political beliefs and now wants his stuff back.

“It’s just the Shire Free Church attempting to get back what is ours from the 2016 raid, as it has been six years and no charges have been filed,” Freeman said Saturday.

Freeman and the Shire Free Church which he runs out of his Keene home are part of an ongoing criminal money laundering case brought against Freeman and five other associates. Any connection between the 2016 raid and last year’s arrests has not been made public.

“Whether that raid was simply an excuse to take our computers and go through them on the pretext of searching for illegal pornography or not is up to the observer to decide.  The facts are clear – obviously, they haven’t found any evidence of any criminal activity or someone would have been charged by now,” Freeman said.

Freeman is suing the agent who obtained the 2016 warrant, Scott Bailey, in order to get his electronics returned. The lawsuit filed last week in the United States District Court in Concord, claims the government obtained the search warrant improperly and that there was no evidence of any crime.

The lawsuit seeks the return of all his devices taken in the 2016 raid, as well as payment to cover the cost of the legal action.

In 2015, agents took his computers, hard drive, and other devices as part of the child sex abuse image investigation that has, so far, not produced an indictment or criminal charge, or apparently turned up any evidence. Soon after that raid, law enforcement agents began asking Freeman’s friends about his crypto businesses, he said.

Agents raided his home again in March of last year as part of the money-laundering investigation. This time Freeman, along with five other people connected to him, were charged with federal felonies.

Freeman (formerly Ian Bernard), 41, of Keene, Colleen Fordham, 61, of Alstead, Renee Spinella, 24, of Derry, Andrew Spinella, 36, of Derry, Nobody (formerly Richard Paul), 53, of Keene, and Aria DiMezzo, 35, of Keene were all taken into custody and charged.

Nobody, AKA Rich Paul, is another example of federal harassment, according to Freeman. During the 2020 interview, he said Nobody has been arrested in 2014 on drug charges but offered a deal if he would talk. Nobody, a pro-marijuana activist who ran for governor, declined the deal and served about a year in jail.

According to court records, since 2016, the defendants have operated a multi-million business that enabled criminal customers to exchange over 10 million dollars in fiat currency for virtual currency, charging a fee for their service. They operated their virtual currency exchange business using websites, as well as operating virtual currency ATM machines in New Hampshire.

Prosecutors have said Freeman knew he was laundering ill-gotten money from criminals. The indictment alleges the defendants knowingly operated the virtual currency exchange business in violation of federal anti-money laundering laws and regulations. Additionally, the indictment alleges some defendants opened bank accounts in the names of purported religious entities, like DiMezzo’s Satanic Temple.

Agents took dozens of guns and close to $200,000 in cash out of Freeman’s Keene homes during the March 2021 raid. He is estimated to have more than one million dollars in cryptocurrency at his disposal, according to court records.

The money laundering case has yet to go to trial, though Freeman insists he is not guilty of any crimes.

Cryptocurrencies have been part of criminal cases in New Hampshire, and regulatory concerns as well. Last year, for example, Shawn Helstein pleaded guilty to money laundering after he was caught trying to convert thousands of dollars in proceeds from the sale of methamphetamine into Bitcoin, according to court records.

United States Attorney John Farley recently told NHJournal drug dealers in New Hampshire have been using crypto to buy and sell drugs on the dark web.

“Almost anyone who wants to find a connection can find a connection,” Farley said. “It’s everywhere.”

If crypto has a legitimate future in the New Hampshire economy, it will need to submit to some form of regulation, critics say. BlockFi Trust withdrew its application to open a branch in New Hampshire after deciding the Granite State’s banking regulations were too unclear for the crypto banking firm.

BlockFi is already in trouble with New Jersey regulators over its interest-bearing accounts. New Jersey’s Bureau of Securities issued a cease and desist order against the company, stating BlockFi’s accounts were not registered with that office or exempt from registration. BlockFi offers accounts with yields from 0.25 percent to 7.5 percent, and New Jersey claims the accounts violate its state regulations.

Freeman was an early Free State activist, moving to New Hampshire as part of the Libertarian movement to take over state politics. He had a falling out with the Free State Project in 2014 after he made statements on his radio program in favor of lowering the age of consent laws. The Free State Project officially distanced itself from Freeman at that time.