On Dec. 6, 2022, the “Crypto Six” case will be heading to trial, and out of all six defendants, only Ian Freeman, co-host of the radio broadcast Free Talk Live, has not accepted a plea bargain. According to the most recent hearing, Freeman’s legal counsel filed a Daubert motion, which aims to exclude the government’s expert testimony, as it’s been argued that private firms and closed-source software used in blockchain analysis don’t meet the Daubert standards of admissible evidence.
The Crypto 6 Trial Is Scheduled to Begin on Dec. 6, Prosecutors Drop All Fraud-Related Charges
Roughly 20 months ago on March 16, 2021, federal agents raided the Free Talk Live studio, the Bitcoin Embassy, and Shire Free Church in Keene New Hampshire. At the time, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) charged six New Hampshire residents for operating a cryptocurrency exchange business without the proper permission. The DOJ “Crypto Six” indictment “alleges that the defendants knowingly operated the crypto exchange business in violation of federal anti-money laundering laws and regulations.”
Since then out of all six individuals, Ian Freeman, co-host of the radio broadcast Free Talk Live and libertarian activist, is the only person that remains in the case. Freeman is taking the case to a jury and the trial begins on Dec. 6, 2022. Freeman told Bitcoin.com News this week that it was revealed prosecutors are dropping all fraud-related charges against Freeman prior to trial. He also said that jury selection will start on the sixth as well, and the trial will start immediately after jurors are selected, which is expected to take two weeks.
Freeman discussed the subject with Bitcoin.com News and explained that his legal team filed a Daubert motion meant to exclude the testimony of the FBI’s top blockchain ‘expert.’ He said that since the U.S. government relied on private companies and closed-source software it doesn’t meet the Daubert standards of admissible evidence.
“The feds then scrambled to have the ‘expert’ re-do the analysis using the blockchain.com explorer, which they call ‘open source,’ even though it’s just open for public use, not open source,” Freeman said. “This is a tacit admission that they know Chainalysis’ findings would not pass legal muster and it would be denied as evidence in a trial,” he added.
The Free Talk Live co-host continued:
Furthermore, my attorney questioned the FBI’s top blockchain ‘expert’ Erin Montgomery and got her to admit that she’s not even a computer scientist. She has a liberal arts degree and admitted that anyone can do what she did, which disqualifies her as an ‘expert.’ The prosecution will be prohibited from presenting her as any sort of expert at trial.
According to the web portal thecrypto6.com, supporters will be protesting outside the courthouse on Dec. 12, 2022. Mainstream media is anticipated to attend and Freeman told our newsdesk that the team is trying to get an audio feed of the trial online. “Presently, we are awaiting approval from the judge on that,” Freeman detailed.
For more details on the charges that were dropped and the charges that remain, check out the summary from freekeene.com here.
What do you think about the “Crypto Six” case and how Freeman is the only one left taking the case to trial? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.
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