Judge sets parameters for a possible released of alleged bitcoin launderer Ian Freeman
May 11—CONCORD — A federal judge expressed a willingness on Monday to release Ian Freeman on bail while the Free Keene activist awaits trial on charges of wire fraud and cryptocurrency/money laundering.
District Court Judge Joseph Laplante told prosecutors and Freeman's defense lawyer to draw up a proposed bail order that would include a significant amount of money or property to guarantee his court appearance, travel restrictions and monitoring of his movements.
Freeman, 40, has been jailed since his arrest in mid-March.
"In a COVID environment, in a case like this, I'm not convinced detention is the right answer," Laplante said during a video-conference hearing that drew nearly 90 onlookers.
During the nearly hour-long hearing, prosecutors said Freeman was too much of a flight risk and a danger to the community, while his defense attorney said Freeman is eager to go to trial and will not flee the area.
"This is an individual, quite frankly, judge, you would have to swat him to keep him away from a courtroom," said defense lawyer Mark Sisti.
Meanwhile, prosecutors released more details of the case. In court filings, they said an undercover law enforcement officer posed as a drug dealer, and Freeman allowed him to use his cryptocurrency ATM to convert dollars to bitcoins.
The filing also said that Freeman instructed another undercover agent how to disguise money for a bitcoin exchange as a church deposit.
Scam victims from nearly every state in the country wired money to Freeman, his co-defendants or four churches in the Keene area that accepted faux donations, prosecutors said.
His victims number into the hundreds, and their losses substantially exceed $10 million, said federal prosecutor Georgiana MacDonald.
Sisti said Freeman was always careful about whom he conducted business with because he too had been a victim of fraud.
"If he was actually hurting that many people under their nose, he should have been taken off the streets years ago," Sisti said. In 2017, the New Hampshire Banking Commission approved his ATM-like vending machines for converting cash to bitcoin, Sisti said.
In court, Sisti read a text between Freeman and a drug dealer in which Freeman refused to accept his money after finding out he was a drug dealer.
Laplante said he would have a bail order ready by Thursday.
An earlier version of this article incorrectly quoted Mark Sisti stating Freeman was eager to flee the area. That has been corrected to say Freeman will not flee if released.
