Three co-defendants plead guilty to wire fraud in cryptocurrency case

Apr. 19—A man who legally changed his name from Richard Paul to Nobody has pleaded guilty to a federal charge related to helping fellow Keene resident Ian Freeman operate what prosecutors describe as an illegal bitcoin business.

He is one of six people — four of them Monadnock Region residents — charged in connection with the alleged scheme. Like Nobody, Renee and Andrew Spinella, both of Derry, pleaded guilty last week in U.S. District Court in Concord, each to a single charge of wire fraud.

Prosecutors claim Freeman and his five alleged co-conspirators violated federal law by running an unlicensed virtual currency-exchange business that handled more than $10 million in transactions over several years.

Freeman, who is known for his libertarian activism and the radio program "Free Talk Live"; Aria DiMezzo, another libertarian activist who lives in Keene; and Colleen Fordham of Alstead have pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Mark Sisti, a lawyer representing Freeman, said Monday that he received no indication during Nobody's and the Spinellas' plea hearings that any of them were cooperating with the government.

According to the government, Freeman and other co-defendants used personal bank accounts and accounts in the names of purported religious entities to conceal the nature of their business while directing customers to falsely report that they were donating to churches or buying rare coins, not purchasing cryptocurrency.

Law-enforcement authorities arrested the six in March 2021. The FBI conducted several searches in Keene one day that month, including at 73-75 Leverett St. and at two properties on Route 101.

Those properties are linked to the libertarian activist group known locally as Free Keene — which has ties to some of the defendants — because of a blog by the same name. The Route 101 searches were at 661 Marlboro Road, at a business called Bitcoin Embassy N.H., and 659 Marlboro Road, which is owned by Shire Free Church Holdings LLC. The FBI also conducted an operation at a convenience store near downtown Keene, with an employee at the time telling The Sentinel agents removed a bitcoin ATM.

All six alleged co-conspirators were charged with conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money-transmitting business, and all but DiMezzo were also charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Renee Spinella additionally was charged with two counts of wire fraud, one of which she has pleaded guilty to, and Andrew Spinella with the single charge of wire fraud.

Freeman also faces charges of operation of an unlicensed money-transmitting business, continuing financial-crimes enterprise, money laundering and six counts of wire fraud. The continuing financial-crimes enterprise charge carries a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence.

According to their plea agreements, Renee Spinella and Nobody both face up to 30 years in prison and $1 million in fines. Andrew Spinella faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines, his plea agreement states. The agreements all stipulate that the government ask the court to issue a sentence at the bottom of the applicable guidelines.

In their plea agreements, Nobody and the Spinellas admitted to opening and operating bank accounts in their names or in the names of churches to allow Freeman to use them to sell virtual currency. The three who pleaded guilty were aware that the banks would close the accounts if they knew the accounts were used to operate an unlicensed virtual currency business, the court documents say.

"They knew it was wrong and they continued their conduct anyway," said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, special agent in charge of the FBI Boston Division, in a news release Monday announcing the plea agreements.

Renee Spinella, who pleaded guilty April 14, said in her plea agreement that Freeman joined her on Jan. 11, 2018, when she opened a business account at Service Credit Union under the name Crypto Church of NH, with her role listed as "minister" of the church.

According to the plea agreement, Renee Spinella admitted that a bank employee would testify Freeman answered many questions about the account but said his name would not be on it because he was just a church member.

On the application, she described the church as an "international ministry" and noted she anticipated receiving $100,000 in cash deposits monthly, the plea agreement states. Before the bank closed it on June 5, 2018, the account received deposits totaling $78,417, according to the court document.

She further admitted in the plea agreement that she told a bank employee the church was a "universal church" with donations coming in from all over the world. On one day in May 2018, the account received deposits totaling thousands of dollars from entities in Missouri, Alaska, Utah, California, Texas and Oklahoma, according to the court document.

In her plea agreement, Renee Spinella admits that the church was established as a nonprofit "with its sole purpose being to open bank accounts to be used to sell virtual currency."

Nobody, who pleaded guilty on April 15, admitted to opening business accounts in the name of Church of the Invisible Hand and providing Freeman access to these as well as personal accounts for the cryptocurrency business, according to court documents.

Nobody signed contracts agreeing to operate the bank accounts for Freeman, the plea agreement says.

Meanwhile, Andrew Spinella, who pleaded guilty on April 12, admitted in his plea agreement to opening a personal account at Wells Fargo Bank on Nov. 28, 2017, and providing Freeman with login information for this and other accounts to sell bitcoin. He also admitted the same during an interview with the FBI in April 2018, the document states.

Andrew and Renee Spinella are scheduled to be sentenced on July 26, while Nobody is scheduled to be sentenced on July 28. Freeman and the other two co-defendants are scheduled to go to trial on Nov. 1.

A lawyer representing Renee Spinella did not return a request for comment Monday, while a lawyer representing Andrew Spinella declined to comment.

Patrick J. Richard, an attorney representing Nobody, said Monday the government has yet to indicate whether it will dismiss the additional charges that his client has not pleaded guilty to.

Ryan Spencer can be reached at 352-1234, extension 1412, or rspencer@keenesentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @rspencerKS