Denying Cryptocurrency Firms Banking Services Encourages Rogue Behavior
By Patrick Tan on ALTCOIN MAGAZINE
Juan Pablo Guzmán smooths the creases on his shirt. The 46-year-old father of two is making his monthly visit to the HSBC bank branch in Alhambra, a predominantly Latino neighborhood in East Los Angeles.
Wearing a light corduroy jacket, he brushes over the bulge in his inner jacket pocket, a brown envelope filled with hundred-dollar bills — payment for the garments which his company exports in bulk to Mexico. Guzmán has made the trip to the HSBC in Alhambra dozens of times, but today’s visit will be different.
Unbeknownst to Guzmán, FBI and DEA agents are lying in wait as he makes his way through the glass doors of the bank.
As soon as he starts the cash deposit process, federal agents swarm around him, weapons drawn. Guzmán puts up little resistance, but acts shocked by his arrest.
While Guzmán may on the surface appear to be just another Mexican garment exporter working out of L.A.’s fashion district, selling used clothing in bulk for cash to Mexico, his company is really a front for laundering…
