3 weeks ago
LegalPublished:May 17, 2026, 10:30 PM
Owe Martin Andresen, a German national, faces wealth laundering charges aft utilizing a cryptocurrency-based outgo processor to acquisition gold bars and sending them to his location address. Adresen was the alleged admin of “Dream Market,” a darknet marketplace that unopen down successful 2019.
Published: May 17, 2026, 10:30 PM
Key Takeaways
- Authorities charged Dream Market’s Owe Martin Andresen with 12 wealth laundering counts for buying golden with flagged cryptocurrency.
- IRS CI’s tracking of $1.7M successful golden bought via Bitpay proves dormant darknet crypto tin beryllium traced.
- Following a May 2026 raid, Andresen volition adjacent look up to 20 years successful situation for each charge.
Alleged ‘Dream Market’ Admin Charged For Money Laundering After Buying Gold With Flagged Cryptocurrency
Owe Martin Andresen, a German national, was precocious charged with wealth laundering aft leveraging cryptocurrency funds from Dream Market, 1 of the largest darknet markets.
According to a press release issued connected Wednesday by the U.S. Attorney’s Office successful the Northern District of Georgia, Andresen was charged with utilizing cryptocurrency from wallets linked to Dream Market aft years of consolidating millions successful funds from the market’s activities.
Authorities were capable to pinpoint Andresen’s determination aft helium utilized a Georgia-based cryptocurrency operator, allegedly Bitpay, to settee gold purchases with planetary merchants and sent the gold bars to his location address.
Andresen is believed to beryllium “Speedstepper,” the main head of Dream Market, who moved millions from the defunct market’s wallets to execute these purchases successful August 2023. U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg stated that Dream Market facilitated the merchantability of 90 kilograms of heroin, 450 kilograms of cocaine, 25 kilograms of ace cocaine, 45 kilograms of meth, 13 kilograms of oxycodone, and 36 kilograms of fentanyl utilizing anonymous means and cryptocurrency.
In May 2026, Andresen had his location raided, with $1.7 cardinal of gold bars and implicit $23,000 successful currency seized, successful summation to identifying $1.2 cardinal successful crypto and slope accounts tied to Dream Market. He is present facing six counts of planetary wealth laundering and six counts of wealth laundering concealment, with each complaint providing up to 20 years successful jail.
Kareem Carter, Special Agent successful Charge of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (CI), stressed that “the reintegration of agelong dormant proceeds demonstrates a hard truth: illicit actors whitethorn fell successful the shadows, but their fiscal footprints remain. IRS CI is dedicated to pursuing the money, and our Cyber Crimes Unit peculiar agents are dedicated to exposing those who effort to exploit exertion to evade accountability.”
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