Keene woman pleads guilty in $1.5 million bitcoin caper

CONCORD - A Keene woman pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday to one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

According to court documents and statements made in court, between June 2020 and January 2021, Aria DiMezzo, 35, operated a business in New Hampshire through which she exchanged fiat currency (mostly United States dollars) for virtual currency for a fee.

DiMezzo recruited customers on websites, including localbitcoins.com, who sent money to her through bank accounts opened in her name and in the name of the Reformed Satanic Church, an organization she created. DiMezzo then sent customers bitcoin or other virtual currency in return. DiMezzo sold more than $1.5 million worth of virtual currency through the bank accounts that she operated as part of the business. DiMezzo did not register her business as a money transmitting business and she did not comply with any of the various regulations imposed on money transmitting businesses. For example, at no time did DiMezzo file currency transaction reports for transactions over $10,000, or suspicious activity reports for transactions over $2,000 that may involve funds derived from illegal activity, among other things.

DiMezzo is scheduled to be sentenced on December 20, 2022.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, and the United States Postal Inspection Service in coordination with the U.S. Treasury Department Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. The National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team also assisted in the investigation.