• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechBitcoin

Pastor, Programmer Convicted of Conspiracy and Bribery in Bitcoin Exchange Scheme

By
Reuters
Reuters
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Reuters
Reuters
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 17, 2017, 6:33 PM ET
Bitcoins As Digital Currency's Rally Crushed Every Other Currency in 2016
A bitcoin token stands in this arranged photograph in London, U.K., on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017. The electronic coin that trades and is regulated like oil and gold surged 79 percent since the start of 2016 to $778, its highest level since early 2014. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesChris Ratcliffe — Bloomberg via Getty Images

A New Jersey pastor and a Florida software engineer were convicted on Friday of scheming to help an illegal bitcoin exchange avoid having banks and regulators look into its activities.

The bitcoin exchange, Coin.mx, was linked to an investigation of a data breach at JPMorgan Chase & Co, revealed in 2014, that exposed more than 83 million accounts.

Pastor Trevon Gross, 47, and programmer Yuri Lebedev, 39, were convicted of conspiracy and bribery charges by a jury in Manhattan federal court after a week of deliberations, according to a spokesman for federal prosecutors. Lebedev was also convicted of wire fraud and bank fraud.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Henry Klingeman, Gross’s attorney, said in an email that he would seek an order overturning the verdict, “and — if and when the time comes — a fair and lenient sentence.”

Eric Creizman, a lawyer for Lebedev, had no immediate comment.

Prosecutors charged that Lebedev helped arrange bribes to Gross, including $150,000 in donations to his church. In exchange, they say, Gross helped the operator of Coin.mx, Anthony Murgio, take over a small credit union Gross ran from his church.

Murgio used the credit union to evade scrutiny of banks wary of processing payments involving the virtual currency, prosecutors say. Lebedev was accused of working for Coin.mx through a front called “Collectables Club.”

Attention 20-Year-Olds: Don’t Ruin Your Finances

Over the course of a four-week trial, lawyers for Lebedev and Gross tried to paint a different picture, saying their clients did not know that Murgio was running an illegal operation and never acted with corrupt intent.

The trial followed a probe rooted in the JPMorgan (JPM) data breach, which lead to charges against nine people.

Gross, Lebedev and Murgio were not accused of hacking. But prosecutors said Coin.mx was owned by an Israeli who was behind the breach, Gery Shalon.

Bitcoin May Go Boom: A Guide to This Week’s Big SEC Decision

Prosecutors say Shalon, together with Maryland-born Joshua Samuel Aaron, orchestrated cyber attacks that resulted in the theft of information from more than 100 million people.

Prosecutors said they carried out the hacks to further other schemes with another Israeli, Ziv Orenstein, including pumping up stock prices with promotional emails. Shalon, Aaron and Orenstein have pleaded not guilty.

Murgio pleaded guilty to charges related to Coin.mx in January. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 16.

About the Author
By Reuters
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

robots
InnovationRobots
‘The question is really just how long it will take’: Over 2,000 gather at Humanoids Summit to meet the robots who may take their jobs someday
By Matt O'Brien and The Associated PressDecember 12, 2025
10 hours ago
Man about to go into police vehicle
CryptoCryptocurrency
Judge tells notorious crypto scammer ‘you have been bitten by the crypto bug’ in handing down 15 year sentence 
By Carlos GarciaDecember 12, 2025
11 hours ago
three men in suits, one gesturing
AIBrainstorm AI
The fastest athletes in the world can botch a baton pass if trust isn’t there—and the same is true of AI, Blackbaud exec says
By Amanda GerutDecember 12, 2025
11 hours ago
Brainstorm AI panel
AIBrainstorm AI
Creative workers won’t be replaced by AI—but their roles will change to become ‘directors’ managing AI agents, executives say
By Beatrice NolanDecember 12, 2025
11 hours ago
Fei-Fei Li, the "Godmother of AI," says she values AI skills more than college degrees when hiring software engineers for her tech startup.
AITech
‘Godmother of AI’ says degrees are less important in hiring than how quickly you can ‘superpower yourself’ with new tools
By Nino PaoliDecember 12, 2025
14 hours ago
C-SuiteFortune 500 Power Moves
Fortune 500 Power Moves: Which executives gained and lost power this week
By Fortune EditorsDecember 12, 2025
14 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
Tariffs are taxes and they were used to finance the federal government until the 1913 income tax. A top economist breaks it down
By Kent JonesDecember 12, 2025
20 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Apple cofounder Ronald Wayne sold his 10% stake for $800 in 1976—today it’d be worth up to $400 billion
By Preston ForeDecember 12, 2025
16 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
At 18, doctors gave him three hours to live. He played video games from his hospital bed—and now, he’s built a $10 million-a-year video game studio
By Preston ForeDecember 10, 2025
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
40% of Stanford undergrads receive disability accommodations—but it’s become a college-wide phenomenon as Gen Z try to succeed in the current climate
By Preston ForeDecember 12, 2025
15 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Palantir cofounder calls elite college undergrads a ‘loser generation’ as data reveals rise in students seeking support for disabilities, like ADHD
By Preston ForeDecember 11, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Arts & Entertainment
'We're not just going to want to be fed AI slop for 16 hours a day': Analyst sees Disney/OpenAI deal as a dividing line in entertainment history
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 11, 2025
1 day ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.