01 May 2007
E-gold, the global online digital currency business, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Washington DC.
The company and its owners have been accused of running an unregulated financial network that caters to criminals moving money.
Further reading
Founded in the 1990s, E-gold allows users to move monetary funds across the internet by transferring ownership of gold.
The indictment alleges that E-Gold has been a highly favoured method of payment by operators of investment scams, credit card and identity fraud, and sellers of online child pornography.
It also alleges that the defendants conducted funds transfers on behalf their customers, knowing that the funds involved were the proceeds of unlawful activity; namely child exploitation, credit card fraud, and wire (investment) fraud; and thereby violated federal money laundering statutes.
The US Secret Service is investigating E-gold and its owners Mr Douglas Jackson, Reid Jackson and Barry Downey, with the assistance of the Internal Revenue Service and FBI. The money laundering conspiracy charge carries a maximum 20 year prison sentence.
Last December, the Department of Justice raided the Melbourne, Florida, office of Gold and Silver Reserve, which operates E-gold, and seized more than 100 boxes of paper records in a move dubbed Operation Goldwire.
In a recent statement Jackson said he was blocking about 2,000 accounts from his system a month, and that he had voluntarily turned over detailed account and transaction histories to federal law enforcement in the US.
Michael Barrett, chief information security officer at PayPal, said: 'Making it harder for criminals to move their money around is important. We're currently improving our fraud models so we can more accurately detect whether we are dealing with a criminal or a real person.'
In my opinion some of these allegations including the CP are really weak and almost ridiculous. It's a shame they just can't figure out some legislation in the US for digital gold currency instead of slugging it out in court.
Mark
Posted by: Mark Herpel 09 May 2007
In my opinion it was the intention by the secret services to taint e-gold beyond its ability to conduct business. The link to child pornography was clearly designed to terminate the business. A dead giveaway that the powers that be are out for the juggler. I'm surprised they didn't go further and falsely link e-gold to Osama bin liner though they did falsely link e-gold to terrorism in a round about way. E-gold is subjected to a modern day witch hunt. In a witch hunt it's not about who is right and who is wrong. It's more about right rests with might. Very soon Dr Jackson will face a kangaeroo court in which they will accuse him of all kinds of black magic, spells and evil potions and then subject him to the modern equivalence to burning at the stake. One has to wonder if the Soviets fled Russia when the Berlin Wall fell and joined the US secret service and Government. Seems like it's the same people who ran that regime now controlling Uncle Sam.
Posted by: Bill Rogers 01 May 2007
My response www.e-gold.com/letter3.html contains hyperlinks that may be of interest. I am particularly interested in independent readings of the transcript from the emergency hearing before the Magistrate Judge in 12/29/05 and my correspondence with the USSS circa 11/04 - 1/05.
Posted by: Dr. Douglas Jackson 01 May 2007
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