Bitcoins Worth $4.7 Million Seized in Fake ID Case

As law enforcement grows increasingly adept at tracking Bitcoin transactions, federal investigators have seized some $4.7 million worth of Bitcoin in what has been described as a “large scale” fake ID operation.

That’s according to the Associated Press, which reports that a district court in Ohio has charged Mark Simon of falsifying identification documents. Authorities seized the cryptocurrencies, along with computers, printers, as well as gold and silver bars inside the home of the alleged fake ID maker.

Still, investigators didn’t find the alleged ID-maker’s trail using Bitcoin—but rather using Reddit. Simon was allegedly peddling his goods via Reddit—leaving a trail leading to a college student who told regulators that a friend bought a falsified ID using the site.

The news comes as criminals are gravitating toward other cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin or Monero instead of Bitcoin, as investigators grow more savvy with tracking the “poster child” of cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies in general are thought to be favored in criminal transactions, as they are pseudonymous and harder to track. Though even with Bitcoin and its peers, the problem of marketing goods is still difficult for those hoping to erase their trail.