The U.S. authorities has taken full authorized possession of greater than $400 million in seized cryptocurrency, money, and actual property tied to Helix, as soon as some of the extensively used bitcoin mixing providers on the darknet.
A federal choose in Washington, D.C., entered a final order of forfeiture on Jan. 21, transferring the property to the federal government following the conviction of Helix operator Larry Dean Harmon. The forfeiture contains hundreds of bitcoin, tons of of hundreds of {dollars} in money, and an Ohio mansion bought throughout the peak of Helix’s operation.
Helix functioned as a cryptocurrency mixer, pooling and rerouting bitcoin transactions to obscure their origins and locations.
Prosecutors say the service was constructed to serve darknet drug markets and was immediately built-in into their withdrawal methods by means of an utility programming interface.
Court docket data present Helix processed roughly 354,468 bitcoin between 2014 and 2017, price about $300 million on the time. Investigators traced tens of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} from main darknet marketplaces by means of the service. Harmon took a lower of every transaction as working charges.
Harmon pleaded guilty in August 2021 to conspiracy to commit money laundering. After years of delays, he was sentenced in November 2024 to a few years in jail, adopted by supervised launch. He was additionally ordered to forfeit seized property and pay a forfeiture cash judgment.
Authorities say Helix labored alongside Grams, a darknet search engine Harmon additionally operated, which helped customers find illicit marketplaces. Collectively, the providers fashioned a part of the monetary infrastructure underpinning darknet drug commerce throughout that interval.
Money, an Ohio mansion, and hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in bitcoin
Among the many forfeited property is a 4,099-square-foot house in Akron, Ohio, bought by Harmon and his spouse in 2016 for $680,000. Automated estimates place its present worth between $780,000 and $950,000, in accordance with reporting from Realtor.com.
The property sits on a 1.21-acre lot and contains a number of fireplaces, a yard fireplace pit, and a whirlpool tub. Federal officers say the house can be offered at public sale by the Inner Income Service.
Along with the actual property, prosecutors reportedly seized greater than $325,000 in money and roughly 4,500 bitcoin, in accordance with Realtor.com, now valued at roughly $355 million at present costs.
“This case exhibits that the darknet is just not a protected haven for legal exercise,” U.S. Legal professional Jeanine Pirro stated in a press release, including that regulation enforcement will proceed to pursue cyber-enabled monetary crimes.
Harmon was reportedly released from jail in December 2025 by means of an early launch program after finishing drug rehabilitation.
He has said he plans to restart a professional bitcoin training enterprise and is in search of new housing following the forfeiture.
