razorlighter on Nostr: Roman Sterlingov is wrongfully accused of operating Bitcoin Fog, a #Bitcoin mixing ...

Roman Sterlingov is wrongfully accused of operating Bitcoin Fog, a #Bitcoin  mixing service. This is the first in a series of threads I will post in an effort to spread word of this unjust prosecution.

In 2003, Roman moves from Russia to Jönköping with his mother. At school he excels in math and science and loves learning about technology. In 2010, he first hears about bitcoin. He is excited by this new technology and learns how to set up wallets & funds them with his paycheck.

In 2011 BTC trades at ~$0.30. Roman travels to Bitcoin meetups as they begin to proliferate across Europe. At these meetups, Roman meets like-minded individuals and helps them set up wallets of their own.

Roman purchases bitcoin in bulk and sells it p2p to bitcoin newcomers at the meetups, helping them begin their own Bitcoin journeys.

I had the pleasure of attending some #Bitcoin  meetups in Europe last month. We spoke in Zürich, Munich, Berlin and Stuttgart. I understand why Roman was attracted to these meetups. They were fun, social, and filled with lovely people who have optimistic visions for the future.

At one of these meetups, someone tells Roman he should mix his Bitcoin before selling it to people he doesn't know. At this time there is no Bitcoin marketplace - like Kraken or Coinbase - all transaction are done peer-to-peer and require a level of trust.

Roman learns that when he makes Bitcoin transactions, his wallet address becomes public. He worries that someone could target him and steal his funds. From this point on, Roman incorporates mixing into his personal privacy practices when transferring #Bitcoin.

In 2014, Roman creates a Kraken account and begins using it as his daily Bitcoin account. By this time Bitcoin had appreciated to ~$475. Roman leaves his job and lives off the appreciation of his investment.

Roman uses Bitcoin Fog to send Bitcoin from his early wallets, through Bitcoin Fog, to a Kraken account held in his real name with KYC authentication.

By 2017 Roman's realizes he's spent a lot of his Bitcoin. Bitcoin is continuing to appreciate, but Roman isn't accumulating any new Bitcoin. He tries his hand at trading & multiple business ventures including a VPN, a music studio & a life coaching business. All his efforts fail.

In search of a career and a stable income, Roman enrolls in a commercial pilot licensing class in California. In April 2021, he flies to LAX where he is arrested by the FBI and accused of operating Bitcoin Fog for the past seven years.

Confused and shocked, Roman is stunned to hear that he is accused of creating and operating Bitcoin Fog. He gets locked up in California where a Magistrate judge issues an order for him to be "detained indefinitely".

Roman is transferred to the Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw, Virginia where he remains to this day. Trapped in a Kafkaesque nightmare in a place he's never set foot in.

The government has seized all of Roman's remaining assets, and the Court will not release them to fund his defense.

Next week I'll post a thread about Chainalysis Inc., and their involvement in this case. I'll discuss how the government relies on unproven, heuristic analysis from Chainalysis, and how their black-box blockchain surveillance techniques do not meet scientific forensic standards.

Please consider donating to Roman's legal defense funds: www.torekeland.com

Please spread word of this unjust prosecution.

I am at BTC23 in Miami, if anyone wants to discuss this case, don't be shy. I will be speaking about this case on Saturday at 2:30 pm on the Open Source stage.

#FreeRoman