Scandal in the Bitcoin Fog case: US prosecutors set up the defense with a forgery — a screenshot from a book was passed off as correspondence
Bitcoin Core developer Peter Todd has uncovered a blatant case of evidence tampering in the case of Bitcoin Fog cryptocurrency mixer operator Roman Sterlingov. According to his findings, the prosecution presented a screenshot in court that was allegedly the defendant's personal correspondence, but turned out to be a fragment of an e-book with which Sterlingov has no connection whatsoever.
This incident is not just a procedural error, but a serious blow to trust in the U.S. judicial system in the context of cryptocurrency prosecutions. Todd, known for his conservative views on Bitcoin's development, has repeatedly criticized law enforcement methods, and this case only confirms his stance.
The Essence of the Fraud: How a Book Became "Evidence"
As it turned out, the disputed screenshot was taken from the dating guide "The Message Game" by Ice White. The image, presented as Sterlingov's dialogue, contained remarks about a "beard," "intelligence above room temperature," and a reference to a scene from the film "The Wolf of Wall Street." The defense barely managed to identify the substitution among thousands of pages of case materials.
The prosecution's witness, under direct examination by the prosecutor, admitted that she mistakenly took the book fragment for correspondence and stated that she would not have given such testimony had she known the true origin of the text. Todd emphasized that someone should have faced severe punishment for such actions against the justice system, but no consequences ensued.
Context of the Bitcoin Fog Case
As a reminder, in March 2024, a jury in Washington found Sterlingov guilty of money laundering and operating an unlicensed service. According to the prosecution, more than 1.2 million BTC, worth approximately $400 million, passed through Bitcoin Fog from 2011 to 2021, a significant portion of which was linked to darknet markets. Sterlingov himself pleaded not guilty, insisting he was merely a user, not the service's operator.
On-chain analysis by Chainalysis played a key role in the trial. The company itself viewed the outcome as confirmation of the admissibility of its methods, but independent experts doubted the sufficiency of the evidence. The fake screenshot story has only intensified criticism of the prosecution and demonstrated that even vast arrays of digital evidence require thorough verification of each element.
My professional opinion: This case is a warning sign for the entire industry. If the prosecution is willing to present outright forgeries to the court, trust in the results of on-chain analysis, no matter how accurate, will be undermined. Sterlingov's defense has gained a powerful leverage for appeal, and the community has another argument that cryptocurrency cases require not only technological but also legal impeccability.