'Doctor Bitcoin' pleads guilty to operating illegal money transmission business

Mark Hopkins, a Texas resident who uses the moniker “Doctor Bitcoin,” pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed crypto-based money transmitter business on Tuesday. 

According to a release from the Department of Justice, Hopkins allegedly converted U.S. cash into bitcoin for a fee — without checking the source of the cash or enacting proper know-your-customer (KYC) protocols. He supposedly admitted to the courts that he did not acquire proper licensure for a money transmitting business in the U.S. and failed to register the business with the Department of Treasury.

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Money transmitter businesses, which fall under the "money services business" umbrella, are regulated by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a federal agency within the Department of Treasury. Money services businesses must develop a robust anti-money laundering program, and submit Suspicious Activity Reports for financial transactions above $2,000 if the cash's source is suspected to be illegal.  

Hopkins was also said to be involved in a 2019 incident in which one of his customers, identified as “M.H.,” converted funds gained from a Nigerian lottery scam through Hopkins’ business, according to the DOJ. He allegedly instructed M.H. on how to avoid scrutiny from financial regulators, such as making deposits under $9,500 and misrepresenting the dealings with Hopkins as a marketing campaign payment. In all, Hopkins helped M.H. convert “between $550,000 and $1.5 million” through 37 transactions, according to the U.S. government.

Hopkins faces up to five years in federal prison.

About Author

MK Manoylov has been a reporter for The Block since 2020 — joining just before bitcoin surpassed $20,000 for the first time. Since then, MK has written nearly 1,000 articles for the publication, covering any and all crypto news but with a penchant toward NFT, metaverse, web3 gaming, funding, crime, hack and crypto ecosystem stories. MK holds a graduate degree from New York University's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program (SHERP) and has also covered health topics for WebMD and Insider. You can follow MK on X @MManoylov and on LinkedIn.