Bitcoin exchange Coin.mx operator Anthony Murgio has pleaded not guilty at his first appearance in court following his arrest on multiple charges back in July.

Murgio appeared before the Federal court in Manhattan on charges that he committed wire fraud and money laundering and operated an unlicensed money transmitting business, Reuters reported.

The main charge relates 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.

Among the more exotic claims are that Murgio, and fellow accused Yuri Lebedev, undertook substantial efforts to evade detection of their activities by operating through a phony front company, “Collectables Club” in an attempt 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.

Once this attempt to deceive failed the pair are alleged to have then obtained beneficial control of a New Jersey-based federal credit union, to which they then transferred Coin.mx’s banking operations.

Although Murgio is not accused of crimes relating to the matter, Coin.mx has also been linked to three alleged hackers (including Lebedev) who are accused of stealing information on more than 100 million customers of banks and publishing firms, including a staggering 83 million JP Morgan customers, then using this data to steal funds through various means; Coin.mx is alleged to have been used to launder proceeds from these crimes.

Murgio potentially faces serious jail time if found guilty, with the charge of money laundering having a maximum sentence of 20 years, the charge of willful failure to file a suspicious activity report carries a maximum prison term of five years, and the charges of conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business each carrying a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan has scheduled Murgio’s trial for October 31, 2016.

Murgio fortunately (at least for him) remains free on bail.

Image credit: screenshot/ Coin.mx