Officials with the United States Justice Department have written a letter opposing former Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith’s motion to reduce his 2022 sentence for violating sanctions on North Korea.
In a June 17 filing in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams argued that a judge should deny Griffith’s motion to reduce his sentence to as little as 51 months. A judge sentenced the former Ethereum developer to 63 months in prison and a $100,000 fine in April 2022, which, considering his time behind bars before the sentencing hearing, makes his expected release date in January 2026.
“Griffith chose to evade the sanctions of his own country to provide services to a hostile foreign power, specifically, services designed to teach and encourage the use of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology to further evade U.S. and United Nations sanctions,” said Williams. “Griffith acted despite knowing that North Korea was committing atrocities against its own people and had made threats against the United States, including nuclear capabilities.”
Griffith spoke at a cryptocurrency and blockchain conference in the North Korean capital city of Pyongyang in 2019, giving more than one presentation about how the country could use crypto to evade sanctions and for money laundering. The Ethereum developer’s lawyers argued in court that he suffered from obsessive-compulsive personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder, leading to an obsession with the reclusive nation.
Claims of petty theft behind bars
Prosecutors added authorities with the Bureau of Prisons had disciplined Griffith “on several occasions” during his stay at the Federal Correctional Institution, Milan in Michigan. They cited reports from prison officials claiming that the former Ethereum developer “attempted to steal soap and tea” and committed other minor infractions while behind bars.
“The defendant’s recent conduct [doesn’t] demonstrate any basis for additional leniency [...] At the very least, these incidents do not suggest a newfound respect for government rules and regulations.”
In April, Griffith’s legal team requested that the court revise his 63-month sentence based on revisions to U.S. sentencing guidelines after his conviction. Under the new guidelines, a court could consider reducing the recommended sentence range for Griffith’s conviction from 63 to 78 months’ imprisonment to 51 to 63 months — potentially cutting his time in prison by up to a year, making him eligible for release in January 2025.
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During his sentencing hearing in April 2022, Griffith said he had been “cured” of his “obsession with North Korea,” given the example set by sanctions on Russia in response to the country’s attack on Ukraine. Judge Kevin Castel said at the time that Griffth had no ideology and would likely “play off both sides, as long as he is at the center.”
Griffith’s legal team is expected to file a response to the U.S. government’s letter within 14 days. Regardless of the outcome of the criminal case, the U.S. Department of Commerce has already imposed a 10-year export privilege ban on Griffith, restricting him from engaging in any transactions involving commodities, software or technology under U.S. export regulations until 2032.
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