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George Cottrell Pleads Guilty in IRS Bitcoin Scam

8/17/2026

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Story summary
  • Authorities arrested George Cottrell on July 22, 2016 after a sting revealed IRS agents.
  • In 2014 Cottrell, “Bill,” offered to launder $20,000 and threatened $80,000 in Bitcoin.
  • A 2016 indictment recorded the scheme, leading to Cottrell’s guilty plea to wire fraud and a term.
  • Nigel Farage kept Cottrell as an adviser while Cottrell called Farage a “father figure” in 2017.
  • Police are probing two £250,000 donations from Cottrell’s mother, with no further arrests.