The infamous man from Texas who is known by his made-up name “Doctor Bitcoin” was presented before the Court for the initiation of his trial where he pleaded guilty before the Court. He accepted his offense of having been part of an illegal crypto trading platform and having run it deliberately for unlawfully exchanging fiat into Bitcoin. The court sentenced him to serve 5 years in imprisonment.
Mark Alexander Hopkins is a man from Texas who has been sent to Federal prison as he pleaded guilty as charged.
Hopkins has been known for his self-proclaimed made-up name called “Doctor Bitcoin”. A statement has been issued by the Department of Justice in which Doctor Bitcoin’s sentence of 5 years was also confirmed. It was further told by the DOJ that Doctor Bitcoin was running an illegal business of Bitcoin trading. He was converting the cash into crypto, particularly Bitcoin, illegally when he was arrested by the authorities red-handed.
Doctor Bitcoin has turned 42 recently and has now been ordered to be sent to federal prison where he will serve 5 years.
When he was brought before the Court for the initiation of his trial, he outrightly admitted his offense. He pleaded “guilty” before the Court and accepted that he was in fact running an illegal business. He told the Court that his illegal activities, which included converting hard cash into Bitcoins, remained unnoticed until he was arrested. He also admitted that he was alone running the currency conversion business on his own and had no accomplices.
Prerak Shah, who is currently acting as the US Attorney in his absence, argued before that Court that Doctor Bitcoin made a mockery of the law. He not only abused the law but also took the law into his own hands and did what he pleased. It was argued that Hopkins deliberately violated the relevant law and promoted the culture of illegal and corrupt practices. The US Attorney told the Court that he was facilitating fraudsters in abusing the cryptocurrency, especially Bitcoin. US Attorney also told the Court that the law has put a duty upon the DOJ to ensure that crypto criminals are brought before the trial.
During his admission of charges, Hopkins also stated on oath that he was running an illegal business of crypto trading. He was regularly sending Bitcoin units into the wallets of his local as well as foreign customers without determining their identities. In fact, he deliberately did not opt to verify whether the cash was coming from a legitimate or criminal source.
In the end, the Court was quick in passing the ruling and concluded that Hopkins was an offender of the law. The Court ordered that he should serve a maximum of five years in prison.
