Prosecutors voluntarily dismiss appeal in Freeman case

An appeal by federal prosecutors over the acquittal of a charge against Keene resident Ian Freeman was voluntarily dismissed Monday, according to records filed in federal court in Concord.
Judge Joseph Laplante acquitted Freeman of a charge of money laundering last August, finding the evidence “insufficient,” the court records state. Prosecutors appealed the acquittal in September.
Freeman was convicted on several charges in 2022 after a two-week trial in which prosecutors presented evidence that his cryptocurrency business allowed Internet scammers to hide money bilked from members of the public.
Freeman is known locally as a long-time local libertarian activist and radio show host who has made several unsuccessful bids for public office.
The jury found him guilty on eight counts, including the operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and attempts to evade or defeat tax in the years 2016 through 2019.

Ian Freeman (Courtesy)

He was sentenced in October to eight years in prison, and the judge ordered him to pay a court fine of $40,000 and ordered forfeiture and restitution to be decided at a later hearing.
Last winter, Freeman filed a motion for a judgment of acquittal on each charge, according to the Jan. 19 court document. In Laplante’s Aug. 22 order, he acquitted Freeman of only the charge of money laundering after finding the evidence insufficient to prove Freeman knew of a prohibited transaction.
According to the order, this charge centered on a bitcoin purchase by Special Agent Pavel Prilotsky with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations Unit, who contacted Freeman while working undercover in September 2019.
“The agent eventually told Freeman that the money he was exchanging for bitcoin was the product of drug sales,” Laplante wrote. “In a subsequent Telegram conversation on July 30, 2020, Freeman wrote, ‘unfortunately I can’t sell you bitcoin because you told me too much about what you do.’ ”
The order also stated that Freeman messaged Prilotsky, saying he couldn’t knowingly assist him with financial subjects. It added that Prilotsky stopped Freeman in August 2022 and asked if he could use a bitcoin machine owned by Freeman inside a Keene bar.
“Freeman replied, ‘I can’t tell you that you can use that.’ The agent responded, ‘okay, thanks,’ ” Laplante wrote, adding that Prilotsky later purchased about $20,000 in bitcoin from Freeman’s machine.
According to Laplante’s order, the prosecution argued that Freeman did not “clearly and directly refuse to sell to the agent.” However, Laplante wrote that no evidence was presented at trial that proved that Freeman knew of the actual transaction.
“In sum … the money laundering count required proof beyond a reasonable doubt that Freeman had knowledge that the August 25 transaction took place. The jury was ultimately left without sufficient evidence of Freeman’s mental state on this matter,” the order stated.
On Jan. 17, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young filed a motion to dismiss the government’s appeal over the acquittal, according to documents filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. That court issued a judgment Monday ordering the appeal to be dismissed, adding that it did not affect Freeman’s separate appeal over his convictions and sentencing, which is currently pending.
Freeman’s attorney, Richard Guerriero, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Laplante also recently ordered the sale of cryptocurrency seized from Freeman to preserve its value, court documents state.
The Jan. 16 order stipulated that the proceeds from the liquidation will be held by the U.S. “for all purposes, including future forfeiture proceedings in this case.”
Christopher Cartwright can be reached at ccartwright@keenesentinel.com or 603-352-1234, extension 1405.
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