Two Florida men were arrested Tuesday on multiple charges relating to their operation of the now-defunct Bitcoin exchange Coin.mx.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Anthony Murgio and Yuri Lebedev stand accused of running an unlicensed Bitcoin exchange which was operated through a phony front-company and, just for something different, through a registered federal credit union.

The main charge related to breaching federal anti-money laundering laws and regulations, in particular that as a money service, Coin.mx failed to meet registration and reporting requirements as specified by the United States Treasury Department.

On top of the breach, Murgio and Lebedev stand accused of knowingly exchanging cash for Bitcoins for victims of ransomware attacks.

“In doing so, Murgio and his co-conspirators knowingly enabled the criminals responsible for those attacks to receive the proceeds of their crimes,” the FBI noted, adding that the act was yet again “in violation of federal anti-money laundering laws [and that] Murgio never filed any suspicious activity reports regarding any of the transactions.”

The two arrested are also accused of engaging in substantial efforts to evade detection of their activities by operating through a phony front-company, “Collectables Club”, in which the FBI claims they used to trick major financial institutions to believe that the processed funds from the Bitcoin exchange were simply the transactions of a members-only association of individuals who discussed, bought, and sold collectable items, such as sports memorabilia.

They pair then (it’s not clear as to how) obtained beneficial control of a New Jersey-based federal credit union, to which they then transferred Coin.mx’s banking operations.

This ultimately may have been their undoing, as their use of the credit union, in particular a serious increase in funds flowing through it, came to the attention of the National Credit Union Administration, who, although not clear, may have tipped off the investigation leading to their arrest.

Not an unsubstantial business

Although not giving a definitive figure, Coin.mx is alleged to have exchanged at least $1.8 million for Bitcoins in the period of October 2013 through to January 2015, serving allegedly tens of thousands of customers.

The pair have been each charged with one count of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, and one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, with each charge carrying a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

In addition, Murgio was also charged with one count of money laundering (maximum sentence of 20 years) and one count of willful failure to file a suspicious activity report, which carries a maximum prison term of five years.

It’s not clear from reports when the pair will come to trial.

Image via Coin.mx