In a stunning flip of occasions, United States Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey and a identified critic of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, has been convicted in a serious bribery scandal. Menendez is accused of accumulating funds in return for utilizing his affect to assist the pursuits of overseas international locations, which has raised essential worries about high-level governmental corruption.
Bitcoin Critic Faces Potential Jail Time period For Bribery Crimes
Particularly, Bob Menendez, the favored US Senator, was discovered responsible on 16 counts associated to a scheme by which he took bribes for aiding overseas governments, together with fiat currencies, gold bars, and a luxurious automotive. Along with his conviction, Menendez’s political profession took a pointy flip, given his unfavorable stand in opposition to Bitcoin and different digital currencies.
US Legal professional Damian Williams acknowledged that Menendez was discovered responsible of the crimes by a jury after a collection of trials. He additional famous that there have at all times been shockingly excessive levels of corruption within the case, underling Menendez’s actions as politics for revenue, not like politics as typical.
It’s value noting that the sentencing of the US Senator will likely be overseen by Choose Stein, which has been scheduled for later this 12 months, significantly on October 29. Given the magnitude of the crimes, Menendez may find yourself spending a long time behind bars. Democratic leaders are already demanding the Senator’s resignation from Congress.
At present, the Public Corruption Unit of the Workplace is dealing with the case. The prosecution is led by Particular Assistant U.S. Legal professional Christina Clark, together with Paralegal Specialists Connor Hamill, Rachel Wechsler, and Braden Florczyk. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eli J. Mark, Paul Monteleoni, Lara Pomerantz, Daniel C. Richenthal, and Catherine Ghosh are additionally concerned within the case.
Crypto Group Reactions To The US Senator’s Actions
This growth has garnered approval throughout the crypto group, because the Senator, who has brazenly opposed digital property like Bitcoin and others, now faces critical authorized ramifications.
Notably, the group is criticizing Menendez attributable to his assertion in 2017, the place he known as Bitcoin the “very best alternative for criminals,” as a result of nameless nature of BTC transactions whereas endorsing conventional banking strategies. In the meantime, years later the Senator has been discovered responsible of a number of crimes related to the identical technique he endorses.
Menendez made the declare in a letter to the Monetary Crimes Enforcement Community (FinCEN) in 2017 about Bitcoin’s involvement as ransomware within the Equifax hack, which started in March and lasted till the top of July earlier than the credit score reporting company found it.
The letter learn:
Due to the nameless nature of Bitcoin transactions, the digital foreign money is a perfect alternative for criminals. The Web presents a formidable impediment to regulation enforcement, with new dangerous actors continuously changing those that have been apprehended. Nonetheless, we’ve got a duty to do all the things inside our energy to stay vigilant and stop hurt wherever attainable.
On the time, the US Senator wrote the letter in response to cybercriminals who requested that Equifax ship them 600 BTC so as to destroy the stolen private knowledge of greater than half of the nation’s inhabitants.
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