A former credit union board chair and CEO and a board member face decades in prison for their roles in taking control of a New Jersey credit union and using it to conceal an illegal Bitcoin operation that ran tens of millions of dollars in ACH transactions.

Last week, a federal jury found Trevon Gross, the former board chair and CEO of the Helping Other People Excel Federal Credit Union in Lakewood, and Yuri Lebedev, former board member, guilty of several felony counts following a four-week trial in U.S. District Court in New York City.

Between 2013 and July 2015, Lebedev helped operate Coin.mx, an unlawful internet-based Bitcoin exchange, along with Anthony Murgio, the founder of Coin.mx.  To conceal the Bitcoin exchange, they operated a fake front company to open bank accounts and trick financial institutions into believing the exchange was a members-only association of individuals who bought and sold collectible items and memorabilia.

They also deceived financial institutions by misidentifying and miscoding Coin.mx customers’ credit and debit card transactions. Through the illegal Coin.mx scheme, Lebedev and Murgio illegally processed more than $10 million in Bitcoin-related transactions, according to prosecutors.

 

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