Durham, N.C. Man Is Sentenced To Prison For Operating An Unlicensed Cryptocurrency Business And Related Tax Charges
2023-07-18 · Press release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Jayton Gill, 35, of Durham, N.C., was sentenced to 21 months in prison followed by a year of supervised release today for operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and willful failure to file a tax return, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Gill was also ordered to pay a forfeiture money judgement in the amount of $475,000.
Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in North Carolina, and Karen Wingerd, Acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS CI), Charlotte Field Office, join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.
According to filed court documents and court proceedings, from 2015 to 2021, Gill operated an unlicensed money transmitting business involving the exchange of millions of dollars of cash and other monetary instruments for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Monero. During the relevant time, Gill conducted thousands of transactions involving thousands of Bitcoins. As Gill previously admitted in court, he advertised his unlicensed money transmitting business on various public websites and made claims on one such website that he had conducted more than 4,200 transactions with 2,700 different parties. Gill also conducted unlicensed money transactions in person and via the U.S. Postal Service.
Court records show that Gill also failed to file U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns for tax years 2015 through 2019, despite earning significant income from his unlicensed money transmitting business and from investing in cryptocurrency.
On July 12, 2022, Gill pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and failure to file a tax return. He will be ordered to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
The FBI and IRS CI handled the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Ryan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.
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- https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdnc/pr/durham-nc-man-sentenced-prison-operating-unlicensed-cryptocurrency-business-and
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| participant_id | name | role | title | organization | location | age | nationality | status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1462 | Jayton Gill | defendant | Durham, N.C. | 35 | sentenced | |||
| 1463 | Dena J. King | prosecutor | U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney's Office | Western District of North Carolina | |||
| 1464 | Robert M. DeWitt | investigator | Special Agent in Charge | Federal Bureau of Investigation | North Carolina | |||
| 1465 | Karen Wingerd | investigator | Acting Special Agent in Charge | IRS Criminal Investigation | Charlotte, N.C. | |||
| 1466 | Daniel Ryan | prosecutor | Assistant U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney’s Office | Charlotte, N.C. |
| agency_id | agency_name | abbreviation | role | office_location | agents_mentioned | contribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 915 | U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina | prosecution | Charlotte, North Carolina | Dena J. King, Daniel Ryan | Prosecuted the case | |
| 916 | Federal Bureau of Investigation | FBI | investigation | North Carolina | Robert M. DeWitt | Handled the investigation |
| 917 | IRS Criminal Investigation | IRS CI | investigation | Charlotte Field Office | Karen Wingerd | Handled the investigation |
| charge_id | charge_description | statute | severity | max_penalty | fine_amount | defendant | status | participant_id | cl_docket_id | count_num | is_1960 | verified_1960 | source | updated_at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 739 | failure to file a tax return | Jayton Gill | pleaded guilty | 0 | enrichment | |||||||||
| 738 | operating an unlicensed money transmitting business | Jayton Gill | pleaded guilty | 1 | enrichment | 2026-09-16T19:45:56+00:00 | ||||||||
| 2680 | operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and willful failure to file a tax return, announced Dena J | 1 | press | 2026-09-16T19:45:56+00:00 | ||||||||||
| 2681 | operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and failure to file a tax return | 1 | press | 2026-09-16T19:45:56+00:00 | ||||||||||
| 2682 | operated an unlicensed money transmitting business involving the exchange of millions of dollars of cash and other moneta | 1 | press | 2026-09-16T19:45:56+00:00 | ||||||||||
| 2683 | unlicensed money transmitting business and willful failure to file a tax retur | 1 | press | 2026-09-16T19:45:56+00:00 | ||||||||||
| 2684 | unlicensed money transmitting business involving the exchange of millions of d | 1 | press | 2026-09-16T19:45:56+00:00 | ||||||||||
| 2685 | unlicensed money transmitting business on various public websites and made cla | 1 | press | 2026-09-16T19:45:56+00:00 | ||||||||||
| 2686 | unlicensed money transmitting business and from investing in cryptocurrency | 1 | press | 2026-09-16T19:45:56+00:00 | ||||||||||
| 2687 | unlicensed money transmitting business and failure to file a tax return | 1 | press | 2026-09-16T19:45:56+00:00 |
| fin_id | action_type | amount | currency | description | asset_type | defendant | status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 222 | forfeiture | $475,000 | USD | forfeiture money judgement | cash | Jayton Gill | ordered |
| victim_id | victim_type | description | number_affected | loss_amount | geographic_scope | vulnerability_factors | impact_description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 173 | government | U.S. government due to unfiled tax returns and unlicensed business operations | United States | Loss of tax revenue and violation of financial regulations |
| quote_id | quote_text | speaker_name | speaker_title | speaker_organization | quote_type | context | significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 203 | Jayton Gill, 35, of Durham, N.C., was sentenced to 21 months in prison followed by a year of supervised release today for operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and willful failure to file a tax return | Dena J. King | U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina | U.S. Attorney's Office | statement | Announcement of sentencing in federal court | Official announcement of the defendant's sentence and charges by the lead prosecutor |
| theme_id | theme_name | description | significance | related_statutes | geographic_scope | temporal_aspects | stakeholders |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 859 | Unlicensed Money Transmitting Business | Gill operated an unlicensed business exchanging cash and monetary instruments for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Monero from 2015 to 2021, conducting thousands of transactions with thousands of parties via websites, in-person, and USPS. | Operating without a license violated federal law and enabled illicit financial activities, leading to criminal charges. | 18 U.S.C. § 1960 | National | Historical trend | Law enforcement, Defendant |
| 860 | Failure to File Tax Returns | Gill willfully failed to file individual income tax returns for tax years 2015 through 2019 despite earning significant income from his cryptocurrency business. | Concealed income from the IRS, violating tax laws and contributing to tax evasion. | 26 U.S.C. § 7203 | National | Historical trend | IRS, Defendant |
| 861 | Cryptocurrency | Gill used cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Monero in his money transmitting business to facilitate transactions. | Cryptocurrency was central to the operation's method, enabling anonymous or hard-to-track transactions. | National | Historical trend | Defendant, Law enforcement | |
| 862 | Law Enforcement Coordination | FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation collaborated to investigate and prosecute Gill's activities. | Cooperation between agencies was crucial in identifying and charging the defendant. | National | Recent development | FBI, IRS CI, U.S. Attorney's Office |
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