Aria DiMezzo Is Going to Jail for Running an Unlicensed Crypto Exchange

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Aria DiMezzo has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after she was charged with running an unlicensed crypto exchange. The platform was ultimately used by scammers who defrauded elderly individuals in ongoing romance scams.

Aria DiMezzo Will Serve Her Time in Prison

DiMezzo was one of six people charged following the raid of a home by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the town of Keene, New Hampshire. Known as the “Crypto 6,” these individuals have also faced charges of money laundering and tax evasion.

DiMezzo and the rest of her crew would often call the elderly individuals in their area and feign romantic interest. They would then work to develop relationships with their victims online or over the phone and seek to gain their trust. From there, they would tell the people they were defrauding about some kind of financial trouble they were enduring and ask if they could wire crypto to their wallets. From there, the money received would be laundered and converted to other assets to hide the activity.

Seth Aframe – an assistant United States attorney – commented on the case in an interview, saying:

Because it wasn’t a safe business, people were hurt. People gave money to Ms. DiMezzo’s business, and they were defrauded.

Initially, DiMezzo was facing a maximum penalty of 37 months or just over three years in prison. She and her lawyer argued that only one year was necessary, and that the sentence should occur via home confinement. The argument was that she had no idea scams were taking place.

The present sentence is a situation in which both sides appear to be meeting on middle ground. While the sentence is not the maximum and only a little longer than the requested period, DiMezzo will be required to serve her time in an eight-by-nine cell.

Richard Guerriero – the defendant’s attorney – explained to the judge:

As misguided as she was about the licensing issue, she wasn’t trying to defraud anyone. The only thing she did wrong was not have a license.

Prosecutors, however, argued that she was in full control and had full awareness of what she was doing in that she earned more than $3 million engaging in said activity in 2020 alone. In addition, they pointed members of the court towards a video in which she refers to one of the victims as “stupid” and “an idiot.” Aframe said:

That’s a recipe for disaster and makes the crime more aggravated than simply not getting a license.

Feelings of Remorse

In a statement, DiMezzo said she felt bad about her actions, claiming:

I have nothing but regret… I thought we were making banks frustrated. My goal was to bring down the banks.

She also said she will not appeal the decision and will serve her time in jail.

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