Ontario man pleads guilty to money laundering and operating an unlicensed Bitcoin exchange

Federal authorities have charged an Ontario man with operating an unlicensed business that exchanged tens of millions of dollars in bitcoin and cash, while also engaging in money laundering.

An Ontario man, Hugo Sergio Mejia, was indicted on Jan. 29 and entered into a plea agreement, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a news release.

According to the plea agreement, from May 2018 to September 2020, Mejia operated a fictitious business that exchanged bitcoin for cash and collected commissions. Mejia admitted that he never registered his business with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

During this period, Mejia converted at least $13 million. Mejia also admitted that he set up a number of companies to cover up his true activities, including Worldwide Secure Communications, World Secure Data and The HODL Group.