A Secret Service raid led to the arrest of William Suriano, 69, of Riverside, and Reza Mehraban, 75, of Naperville, along with his son, who was arrested in Miami.
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The three of them are accused of defrauding at least eight victims in northeast Ohio using Bitcoin kiosks that were not legally licensed.
"I think everyone standing here believes the victims on our indictment are not the total universe of victims," said Andrew Rogalski, supervisor of the economic crimes unit. "It's more like the tip of the iceberg."
Prosecutors in Ohio say police seized more than 50 of the bitcoin ATMs in Ohio on Wednesday. Officials did not mention any illegal ATMs located in Illinois.
More than 25 police agencies helped serve the warrants issued against the three suspects. The two Chicago area residents arrested at a Lisle business, S&P Solutions, which is accused of illegally doing business as Bitcoin of America and operating the ATMs throughout Ohio.
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When reached yesterday, the COO of that company told the ABC7 I-Team they were collaborating with Ohio authorities in an ongoing investigation there.
Prosecutors said the suspects first started to receive illegal deposits in 2020 and accuse them of transmitting about $250 million last year alone.
At Suriano's residence, a woman who answered the door Thursday said they have no comment.