An international tale of money laundering, cryptocurrency and the dark web of illegal guns and drugs may have deep roots in Greater Akron.

A Bath, Ohio, resident with a bitcoin-focused business in downtown Akron was secretly indicted by a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., in December for conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and transmitting money without a license, court records show.

Larry Dean Harmon, who is in his 30s, was arrested in Akron last Thursday and the indictment was unsealed. If convicted, Harmon could face 14 to 17½ years in prison, according to court records.

Federal prosecutors in Ohio asked a judge to keep Harmon in custody, saying he is a flight risk, a jet-set…