The U.S. government now has legal title to more than $400 million worth of cryptocurrency, real estate and cash tied to the once-popular darknet Bitcoin mixing service Helix, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday. Mixing services like Helix aim to obscure the origin and destination of cryptocurrency transactions by pooling and redistributing funds, a practice that has long drawn scrutiny from law enforcement and regulators. The U.S. Department of Justice alleges that Helix is ​​used by drug traffickers and other criminals to launder money.
According to court documents, Helix is ​​one of the most widely used mixing services on the dark web, particularly by online drug dealers seeking to launder their illicit profits. Investigators said Helix processed at least 354,468 Bitcoins, worth about $300 million at the time, most of which were tied to darknet drug markets. Larry Dean Harmon, the operator of Helix, receives commissions and fees from these transactions.
Harmon pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering in August 2021 and was sentenced in November 2024 to 36 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit money and property.
Harmon also operates Grams, a darknet search engine designed to connect users to major darknet markets. Helix’s Application Programming Interface (API) allows darknet markets to integrate mixers directly into their Bitcoin withdrawal systems, allowing for seamless withdrawals
Since 2020, the Justice Department’s Criminal Division’s Computer Crimes and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) has secured more than 180 cybercrime convictions and issued court orders requiring the return of more than $350 million in victim funds, according to the Department of Justice.
