Re: BurtW arrested

BurtW's indictment was filed on 2014 oct 07 in the US District Court for Colorado. On the same day, at least three other cryptocurrency related cases were filed in that same court, with the same special agent Arran McWhirter, with the same prosecuting attorney of Michele Korver, all offenses listed as occurring in Boulder County:

14-cr-00398 USA v Burton Wagner
18 USC 1960
Count 1: Operation of Unlicensed Money Transmitting Business

14-cr-00399 USA v Sean Swanson
18 USC 1960
Count 1: Operation of Unlicensed Money Transmitting Business

14-cr-00400 USA v Michael Seiler
18 USC 1956 (a)(3)(B) and (C)
18 USC 1960
Count 1: Money Laundering
Count 2: Operation of Unlicensed Money Transmitting Business

14-cr-00401 USA v Katherine Noland and Thomas Noland
18 USC 1956 (a)(3)(B) and (C)
18 USC 1960
18 USC 2
Count 1: Money Laundering (Katherine)
Count 2: Operation of Unlicensed Money Transmitting Business (Katherine and Thomas)

Very frustrating. I just went through all 4 cases' docket reports in PACER, and for all of them, the complaints are still sealed and even the plea agreements are sealed. So I have no idea what's going on other than it was obviously a connected series of busts and sounds like it may have been black-market related.

Is that normal? What are they protecting/hiding?

That struck me as odd too. When they took down Liberty Reserve they used the patriot act. Does that mean what Burt was doing was as bad as Liberty Reserve? The government is throwing around the patriot act and walking on civil liberties so much since 9/11 that I don't even recognize this country anymore. Civil liberties are meaningless when you have laws that allow them to be trampled. The founding fathers of America are weeping in their graves.