DOJ says alleged Dream Market admin laundered crypto into gold

The U.S. Department of Justice has charged German citizen Owe Martin Andresen over an alleged money laundering scheme tied to Dream Market, a darknet marketplace that shut down in 2019. 

Prosecutors said Andresen was the suspected main administrator of the site. Meanwhile, the DOJ said Andresen was arrested in Germany last week on parallel German charges. 

U.S. prosecutors said he used dormant Dream Market administrator wallets to move funds and later convert part of the proceeds into gold bars.

Prosecutors cite dormant crypto wallets

Dream Market launched in 2013 and became one of the largest darknet markets before its closure. Prosecutors said the site carried close to 100,000 listings at a time and used Tor and cryptocurrency to hide buyers, sellers and payments.

After the shutdown, the DOJ said Dream Market’s crypto infrastructure stayed mostly untouched. Prosecutors said activity resumed in late 2022, when funds moved from old Dream Market wallets into newly consolidated wallets. They said the transfers “could only have been initiated” by someone with access to the original private keys.

Moreover, prosecutors said Andresen used a crypto service provider based in Atlanta to buy gold bars from international companies in August 2023. The gold bars were allegedly shipped to his home address in Germany.

The DOJ said Andresen allegedly laundered more than $2 million between August 2023 and April 2025. During searches on May 7, authorities found about $1.7 million in gold bars, more than $23,000 in cash, and information tied to bank accounts and crypto wallets holding about $1.2 million believed to be Dream Market proceeds.

Crypto crime cases remain active

A federal grand jury charged Andresen with six counts of international concealment money laundering and six counts of concealment money laundering. Each U.S. charge carries up to 20 years in prison. The DOJ said Andresen is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

The case follows wider enforcement against crypto-linked laundering. Crypto.news reported that the DOJ finalized forfeiture of over $400 million in assets tied to Helix, a darknet crypto mixer. Separate coverage said a California man received 70 months in prison for laundering funds tied to a $263 million crypto theft group.