Jury Selection In Trial Of Coin.mx Operator Kicked Off

A lawsuit launched from an inquiry into a bitcoin exchange and a breach of data at JPMorgan was expected to kick off on Monday (Feb. 13).

According to a report by Reuters, jury selection for the case of Yuri Lebedev, the alleged mastermind of bitcoin exchange Coin.mx’s electronic platform, and Trevon Gross, a pastor and former head of a now out of business credit union, were expected to begin in Manhattan. Prosecutors in the case allege Lebedev tricked banks into processing transactions from Coin.mx despite the fact that the exchange wasn’t licensed. Lebedev is also being charged with bribing Gross to get control of the credit union so that it could facilitate the virtual currency business for Coin.mx. Both have pleaded guilty and the lawyer for Lebedev, Eric Creizman, told Reuters his client is “looking forward to his day in court.” Gross’ attorneys did not respond to requests for comment by Reuters.

Lebedev and Gross are part of a group of nine people who are facing charges in the case, which was discovered during an inquiry in the data breach at JPMorgan, which the bank disclosed in 2014. That breach potentially impacted 83 million customer accounts, noted the report. In January, Anthony Murgio, one of the alleged operators of Coin.mx, pled guilty on charges of conspiring to use the scheme to hack companies, including JPMorgan Chase. Murgio’s plea was entered in federal court in Manhattan, where he face charges on three counts, including conspiracy to commit bank fraud and operate an illegal money transmitting business. Reuters said that, under the plea agreement, Murgio will not appeal any sentence in prison of twelve-and-a-half years or less. According to prosecutors, Coin.mx exchanged millions of dollars into bitcoin, including for ransomware victims, without having the proper licensing in place.