Sentencing Delayed for New Hampshire Bitcoin Exchange Operator Amidst Restitution Debate

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A federal judge on Monday heard from multiple women who said they were victimized by a New Hampshire man’s unlicensed bitcoin exchange business but postponed a sentencing hearing in the case to evaluate whether restitution is appropriate. Prosecutors said Ian Freeman, a libertarian activist and radio show host, created a business that catered to fraudsters who targeted elderly women with romance scams, serving as “the final step in permanently separating the victims from their money.” U.S. District Court Judge Joseph LaPlante said the delay was necessary to give Freeman’s attorneys a chance to object to the prosecution’s push to make restitution part of the sentence. Prosecutors also argue he should get a harsher sentence because victims, many of them elderly, were particularly vulnerable