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On December 6, 2022, the “Crypto Six” case will go to trial, and of all six defendants, only Ian Freeman, co-host of the radio show Free Talk Live, has not accepted a plea. According to the latest hearing, Freeman’s legal counsel filed a Daubert motion, which seeks to exclude the government’s expert testimony, as it has been argued that private firms and closed source software used in blockchain analysis do not meet Daubert standards for admissible evidence. .
About 20 months ago, on March 16, 2021, federal agents raided the Free Talk Live studio, the Bitcoin Embassy, and the Shire Free Church in Keene New Hampshire. At the time, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) charged six New Hampshire residents with operating a cryptocurrency exchange business without proper permits. 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 of all six individuals, Ian Freeman, co-host of the Free Talk Live radio show and libertarian activist, is the only person remaining in the case. Freeman is taking the case to a jury and the trial will begin on December 6, 2022. Freeman told Bitcoin.com News this week that it was revealed that prosecutors are dropping all fraud-related charges against Freeman before the trial. He also said jury selection will start on the sixth as well, and the trial will begin immediately after the jurors are selected, which is expected to take two weeks.
Discussing the topic with Bitcoin.com News, Freeman explained that his legal team filed a Daubert motion intended to exclude the testimony of the FBI’s top blockchain expert. He said that because the U.S. government relied on private companies and closed-source software, it does not meet Daubert standards for admissible evidence.
“The feds then moved to have the ‘expert’ redo the analysis using blockchain.com explorer, which they call ‘open source,’ even though it’s only open for public use, not open source,” Freeman said. “This is a tacit admission that they know Chainalysis’ findings will not pass legal muster and will be denied as evidence in a trial,” he added.
The Free Talk Live co-host continued:
Furthermore, my lawyer questioned the FBI’s top blockchain expert, Erin Montgomery, and got her to admit that she is not even a computer scientist. She has a liberal arts degree and admitted that anyone could do what she did, which disqualifies her as an “expert.” The prosecution will be prohibited from presenting her as any kind of expert in the trial.
According to the online portal thecrypto6.com, supporters will protest outside the courthouse on December 12, 2022. Mainstream media is expected to attend and Freeman told our news desk that the team is trying to get an audio feed of the trial online. “At the moment we’re waiting for the judge’s approval on that,” Freeman said.
For more information on the charges that were dropped and the charges that remain, see the summary from freekeene.com here.
What do you think about the “Crypto Six” case and how Freeman is the only one left to take the case to trial? Let us know what you think about this topic in the comments section below.
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