Bothell man charged with money laundering using Bitcoin

On March 11, Kenneth Warren Rhule of Bothell made an appearance at the U.S. District Court in Seattle.

Warren is being charged with conducting an unlicensed money transmitting business, five counts of money laundering, and one count of conspiracy to produce and distribute marijuana.

Law enforcement placed him on their radar in April 2018 when Rhule was running an unlicensed Bitcoin exchange business under the name of “Gimacut93.” In addition, Rhule was conducting an unlicensed marijuana product business in Monroe.

On numerous occasions, undercover agents posing as criminals met Rhule at various establishments — Starbucks was the most frequented locale. In their interactions with the accused, the agents made it seem as if they intended to launder money from human trafficking activities. In return, Rhule proposed advice on cryptocurrency and how to conceal the source of funds.

Rhule is accused of knowingly conducting an unlicensed money-transmitting business in which he…