In a landmark enforcement action, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has finalized the forfeiture of over $400 million in assets connected to the darknet cryptocurrency mixer Helix. The DOJ announced on February 15, 2025, that it had secured legal title to the assets, which include substantial amounts of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, multiple real estate properties, and various financial accounts. This action marks one of the largest digital asset forfeitures in U.S. history.
The forfeiture is the final step following the November 2024 sentencing of Helix founder Larry Dean Harmon. Harmon was sentenced to 36 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering. A federal judge had previously issued a preliminary forfeiture order for the $400 million, which the DOJ has now perfected, enabling the eventual liquidation of the assets.
Helix operated from approximately 2014 to 2017, processing over 350,000 Bitcoin (worth about $311 million at the time of transactions). According to court documents, a significant volume of this activity was linked to darknet markets like AlphaBay. The service functioned by pooling and scrambling user funds to obscure transaction trails, with Harmon retaining a percentage as fees.
Investigators from the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) spearheaded the probe, utilizing advanced blockchain analytics and cooperation from regulated cryptocurrency exchanges. The civil case against Harmon was based on violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, as Helix operated as an unregistered money services business without an anti-money laundering program.
Financial compliance experts view the case as a critical precedent. "The $400 million forfeiture... demonstrates the DOJ’s sophisticated ability to trace, seize, and legitimize title to complex digital asset portfolios," noted a former federal prosecutor. The action aligns with a global regulatory crackdown on anonymity-enhanced services, sending a strong deterrent signal to operators of similar, non-compliant mixers.
