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What Sterlingov was convicted of
A federal jury in the District of Columbia found Sterlingov guilty on March 12, 2024, of money laundering conspiracy, sting money laundering, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, and money transmission without a D.C. license. The appeals court later rejected his challenges and affirmed the district court judgment. The Justice Department’s 2024 announcement of the verdict lists the jury’s findings; the appeals court opinion in United States v. Sterlingov records the later affirmance.
What Bitcoin Fog did
The Justice Department said Sterlingov operated Bitcoin Fog from October 2011 to April 2021. It described the service as a cryptocurrency mixer, also called a tumbler: users deposited bitcoin into a shared pool and withdrew bitcoin from that pool, making it harder to connect a particular deposit with a later withdrawal. The jury found that the service was used for illegal money transmission and money laundering under federal law. DOJ’s sentencing announcement describes the government’s account of the operation.
Mixing does not make bitcoin transactions inherently untraceable. The appeals opinion explains that transaction addresses, amounts, and timing are public on the blockchain, and that investigators can use tracing tools to group addresses and associate those groups with known users or entities. That public information can support analysis even when a mixer complicates the link between a specific deposit and withdrawal. The court’s opinion discusses both the mixer’s function and the tracing methods described in the case.
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How much money was involved
The figures in the case describe different things and should not be added together as though they were separate measures of criminal proceeds. DOJ reported the following in its 2024 releases:
- More than 1.2 million bitcoin, worth approximately $400 million at the time of the transactions: DOJ’s broad estimate of Bitcoin Fog’s transaction volume over roughly a decade. The dollar value is tied to when those transactions occurred, not a current valuation. DOJ’s sentencing release.
- More than $78 million in direct transactions involving known darknet markets: IRS Criminal Investigation’s figure, reported by DOJ. It covers direct transactions only and is a narrower category than the broader transaction-volume estimate. The U.S. Attorney’s Office release.
- $395,563,025.39: the forfeiture money judgment announced by DOJ. DOJ’s sentencing release.
- Approximately $1.76 million: other seized cryptocurrencies and monetary assets reported by DOJ. DOJ’s sentencing release.
- Approximately 1,345 bitcoin: the bitcoin in Sterlingov’s interest in a Bitcoin Fog wallet. DOJ valued it at more than $103 million in its November 2024 announcement; that dollar estimate reflects the value at that time. DOJ’s sentencing release.
What happened on appeal
The D.C. Circuit decided Sterlingov’s appeal on September 25, 2026, and affirmed the district court’s judgment, including the convictions and sentence. The sentence therefore remains 150 months. The appellate decision is United States v. Sterlingov, No. 24-3161.
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What officials said
Announcing the sentence on November 8, 2024, then-Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said: “Roman Sterlingov ran the longest-running bitcoin money laundering service on the darknet, and today he paid the price.” That is Monaco’s characterization in the Justice Department’s announcement, not a quotation from the appeals court’s opinion. DOJ’s announcement.
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