Scam victims testify as Freeman cryptocurrency trial enters week 2 - The Keene Sentinel

Ian Freeman, of Keene, (left) walks out of the Warren B. Rudman U.S. Courthouse in Concord Monday during a break in his federal trial. He’s accused of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, money laundering and income-tax evasion.
The Warren B. Rudman U.S. Courthouse in Concord, seen here Monday, is the sit of Keene resident Ian Freeman’s trial on felony charges related to his Bitcoin business. The libertarian activist and radio host who lost a GOP primary race for state Senate this year has pleaded not guilty.
Ian Freeman

Ian Freeman
Ian Freeman, of Keene, (left) walks out of the Warren B. Rudman U.S. Courthouse in Concord Monday during a break in his federal trial. He’s accused of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, money laundering and income-tax evasion.
The Warren B. Rudman U.S. Courthouse in Concord, seen here Monday, is the sit of Keene resident Ian Freeman’s trial on felony charges related to his Bitcoin business. The libertarian activist and radio host who lost a GOP primary race for state Senate this year has pleaded not guilty.
CONCORD — Three men who were bilked out of thousands of dollars testified Monday in the federal trial of Keene resident Ian Freeman, who is accused of running a Bitcoin business that laundered money for Internet scam artists.
A 68-year-old Spicewood, Texas, man; A 74-year-old Liberty, Mo., man, and a 72-year-old Rockwood, Tenn., man, testified for the prosecution in the case against Freeman, which went to trial starting last Tuesday.
(The Sentinel is not including the names of these men as they were victimized in fraud.)
The libertarian activist and radio host who lost a GOP primary race for state Senate this year has pleaded not guilty to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, money laundering and income-tax evasion, as well as conspiracy charges in connection with the money-laundering and unlicensed money-transmitting allegations.
The Tennessee man, a retired firefighter and a widower, said he was very lonely about three years ago and went on an Internet dating site for seniors.
He met a person online purporting to be “Mary Romeo,” a woman from Texas who was in Malaysia and needed money for expenses associated with an inheritance she was poised to receive.
He said that, using money from his wife’s life insurance policy, he followed directions from his Internet acquaintance and tried to wire $67,000 from his bank to the Church of the Invisible Hand and Ian Freeman for the purchase of Bitcoin.
Prosecutors allege that Freeman and other co-defendants used personal bank accounts and accounts in the names of “purported religious entities” — including the Shire Free Church, the Crypto Church of NH, the Church of the Invisible Hand and the Reformed Satanic Church — to conceal the nature of their business.
They say Freeman would take a cut of the money sent to him by the targets of the scams and would convert the rest of the proceeds to Bitcoin for the scammer.
The bank blocked the Tennessee man’s wire transfer.
“The folks at the bank thought it was too much money to send to a charity and they didn’t think it was on the up and up,” the man testified.
He said Freeman called him and told him the wire transfer didn’t go through, and he then sent the money by check.
He also said Freeman did not personally request funds; instead it was the Internet scammer who drove the transaction.
He said he learned something from his experience with “Mary Romeo.”
“This taught me to be very careful of what I do on the Internet and who I do dealings with,” the man said.
In his opening statement last week, defense attorney Mark L. Sisti said Freeman openly operated a legitimate business and had no criminal intent, adding his church operations helped the community.
Sisti also said that those who perpetrated the scam wouldn’t be part of this trial. It’s not clear whether authorities have identified any of these scammers.
The other two witnesses who testified Monday, also discussed sending money to Freeman at the behest of scammers.
The Texas man said that in the fall of 2020 he got an email that his Social Security account had been hacked.
He spoke to a man on the phone who identified himself as Bruce Williams, said he was an agent working for Social Security and that he would help him protect his money. The Texas man said “Williams” gave him instructions for wiring money to Freeman and his N.H. Peace Church in Keene.
The man said he ended up losing about $280,000 in this way.
The Missouri man said he was targeted by an Internet scammer in the spring of 2020.
He said he was separated from his wife and going through an anxious time during a pandemic lockdown when he met someone on the Internet purporting to be “Natasha,” who said she could get a $100 million inheritance in Sweden and would give him 5 percent if he would help with expenses up front.
The man testified that at the scammer’s direction, he began wiring tens of thousands of dollars to Freeman and his church organizations. Two banks warned him that he was being defrauded, but he managed to do the transactions with other accounts, he said.
In earlier testimony Monday, computer experts working for the FBI described how they examined computer equipment taken from Freeman in March 2021.
The FBI conducted several searches in Keene one day that month, including at 73-75 Leverett St., where Freeman was living there at the time of the raid, and at two properties on Route 101.
In September, co-defendant Aria DiMezzo, of Keene, pleaded guilty to a single count of operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business.
Earlier this year, an Elm City resident who legally changed his name from Richard Paul to Nobody and Derry residents Renee and Andrew Spinella also pleaded guilty, each to a single charge of wire fraud. (In April, the federal government dropped charges against an Alstead woman who had been indicted as a co-conspirator.)
Judge Joseph N. Laplante said Renee Spinella was supposed to testify for the prosecution on Monday, but that her testimony would be delayed because she had tested positive for COVID-19.
The trial, which began Dec. 6, is scheduled to continue Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Concord.
Rick Green can be reached at RGreen@KeeneSentinel.com or 603-355-8567
Ian Freeman
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