Helix crypto mixer forfeiture closes a long-running US justice case

The United States Department of Justice has completed the forfeiture of more than $400 million in cryptocurrency and other assets linked to Helix, an early darknet crypto mixing service.

The move follows a final court order from the US District Court for the District of Columbia, giving the government full legal title to assets seized from Helix operator Larry Dean Harmon.

Announced in a DOJ statement on Jan. 29, the forfeiture brings formal closure to a case that began years after Helix stopped operating.

How Helix operated

Helix functioned as a cryptocurrency mixer, a service designed to obscure the source and destination of digital funds.

By pooling cryptocurrency from multiple users and redistributing it, the service made blockchain transactions harder to trace.

According to the DOJ, Helix was active between 2014 and 2017 and processed large volumes of Bitcoin linked to darknet markets.

During this period, more than $300 million worth of cryptocurrency flowed through the platform as part of efforts to conceal proceeds from online drug trafficking and other illicit activity.

Helix was built and operated by Harmon, who also ran Grams, a search engine designed to integrate directly with darknet marketplaces such as AlphaBay.

Investigators said this integration allowed marketplaces to embed Helix directly into their withdrawal systems, enabling laundering at scale.

Prosecutors later determined that Harmon earned commissions and fees by retaining a percentage of each transaction routed through the service.

Assets and court orders

The forfeiture follows a Jan. 21 order issued by Judge Beryl A. Howell, formally transferring ownership of the seized assets to the US government.

These assets include cryptocurrency, real estate, and financial holdings tied to Helix’s operations.

The DOJ said Helix processed at least 354,468 Bitcoin over its lifetime, worth roughly $300 million at the time of the transactions.

Investigators traced tens of millions of dollars from darknet drug markets through the mixer.

The finalised forfeiture represents the legal endpoint of one of the most prominent Bitcoin mixer cases from the early days of the crypto ecosystem.

While criminal activity linked to Helix ended years ago, the asset recovery process continued long after sentencing.

Sentencing and related cases

Harmon was arrested in February 2020 and pleaded guilty in August 2021 to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business and violating the Bank Secrecy Act.

He was sentenced to three years in prison in November 2024, with the court ordering the forfeiture of assets valued at more than $400 million.

The case also led to charges against Harmon’s brother, Gary James Harmon, who was indicted in 2022.

Prosecutors stated that he used stolen credentials to access cryptocurrency seized from an IRS evidence locker.

Harmon’s sentence was reduced after he cooperated with investigators, including testifying in the Bitcoin Fog case against Roman Sterlingov.

Broader scrutiny of mixers

Crypto mixers remain under close scrutiny from US regulators and international law enforcement agencies.

Authorities argue that while mixers are not inherently illegal, their core functionality is frequently used to enable large-scale money laundering.

Developers behind several mixing services have faced criminal prosecution in the US. At the same time, privacy advocates continue to push back.

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has argued that building decentralised privacy tools should not be treated as a crime simply because the software is misused.

The debate has also reached the White House. Last month, President Donald Trump said he was reviewing a potential pardon for Keonne Rodriguez, a co-founder of Samourai Wallet who was sentenced to five years in prison on charges related to money laundering and unlicensed money transmission.

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