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Shreveport Chiropractor and Son Plead Guilty to Bitcoin Scheme
A former Shreveport chiropractor and his son have admitted to running an illicit bitcoin exchange business, funneling millions of dollars through the underground market.
Randall Bryan Lord, 58, and his son, Michael Aaron Lord, 29, both of Shreveport, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money servicing business.
The conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and Michael Lord also faces an additional five years in prison for his involvement in a drug conspiracy to distribute controlled dangerous substances, including alprazolam, a Schedule IV controlled substance.
According to the guilty plea, from at least 2013 to 2015, the defendants were accepting currency, money orders and money paks and exchanging those funds for bitcoin, a decentralized form of electronic or digital currency, existing entirely on the Internet and not in any physical form.
Contrary to law, the Lords were not registered with FinCEN or licensed to operate as a money service business with the State of Louisiana. The Lords also failed to report the receipt of more than $10,000 in U.S. currency.
Begging in March 2015, Michael Lord was involved in a drug conspiracy to distribute alprazolam. He faces five years in prison for the drug count, in addition to the conspiracy charge.
The Lords also face three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. A sentencing date of August 1, 2016 was set.
The IRS, FBI, U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cytheria D. Jernigan is prosecuting the case.
Key Facts
- State: Louisiana
- Category: Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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