Olympic Snowboarder Used Tether in Cocaine Smuggler’s Killing Technique, Feds Say

A federal man has been hit with a felony charge of involvement in an alleged cocaine-trafficking ring against an Olympic figure skater who used stablecoins. Tether (USDT) As an integral part of his billion dollar business.

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit Thursday Accused Former snowboarder Ryan James Sargs and 15 other defendants were accused of transporting cocaine from Colombia to Mexico, leading drug traffickers to the United States and Canada.

The criminal group has carried out several murders and has used crypto to try and elude police in the United States.

“Defendant Bonilla tendered payment for two kilograms of cocaine to defendants Wed and Clark through the Tether cryptocurrency payment service,” the suit reads. He added that QR codes were sent to drug runners to receive payment in USDT.

As part of the investigation, the DOJ said it seized more than $3.2 million worth of cryptocurrency, more than a ton of cocaine, three guns, dozens of rounds of ammunition and $255,400.

Now, the wedding is on the run, officials said. In the year The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and wedding of the 47-year-old, who competed for Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics and most recently lived in Mexico.

His Olympic biography He says. In the year In 2008, the athlete was accused of trying to buy cocaine from a US government agent and was sentenced to four years in prison as a result.

“As alleged in the indictment, the Olympic athlete-turned-drug lord is now accused of leading a nationwide organized crime ring engaged in cocaine trafficking and murder,” US Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement.

USDT is the third largest cryptocurrency by market cap and one of the most traded digital assets, with the highest 24-hour trading volume after Bitcoin.

The token is important to the crypto ecosystem because traders use it to quickly enter and exit transactions and convert crypto to fiat through a traditional bank.

But they are cryptocurrency and the company that issues it. ControversialTether is late in providing documents confirming that USDT has been returned; US regulators took issue with the entity's lack of independent audits.

In 2021, Teser agreed After a two-year state attorney general's investigation, he made false statements about his support for Storicoin to prevent him from doing business in New York.

However, the company points to quarterly verifications and transparency reports as proof of compliance. Work closely Work with law enforcement agencies to block funds used by criminals.

Edited by Andrew Hayward.