Unlicensed Money Transmitting & Crypto-for-Cash Charges in Miami

These cases often begin with an undercover buy: an agent answers an ad or a post, meets to trade cash for crypto, and records what is said. The words used in those meetings can become the center of the case.

Dennis Gonzalez Jr. is a former Miami-Dade prosecutor who has been defending people since 2012. We defend people who are under investigation or charged. Our office answers 24 hours a day.

Florida: Chapter 560 (Money Services Businesses)

The rule

Florida law says a person may not engage in the business of a money services business in Florida unless licensed or exempt. Money services businesses include money transmitters, payment instrument sellers, foreign currency exchangers, and check cashers. Starting January 1, 2027, the law will also refer to registration, because Florida is adding a registration system for virtual currency kiosk businesses (see "Bitcoin ATMs" below).

How Florida defines the key terms

• "Virtual currency" means a medium of exchange in electronic or digital format that is not currency. It does not include in-game currency used only within a publisher's games, or rewards points that can't be converted into currency or another medium of exchange.
• "Monetary value" means a medium of exchange, other than virtual currency, whether or not it is redeemable in currency.
• "Money transmitter" means a corporation, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, or foreign entity qualified to do business in Florida that receives currency, monetary value, a payment instrument, or virtual currency (among other things) for the purpose of acting as an intermediary to transmit it to another person or location by any means, including the Internet. The term includes only an intermediary that has the ability to unilaterally execute or indefinitely prevent a transaction.
• For the license requirement, "compensation" includes profit or loss on the exchange of currency, monetary value, or virtual currency. In other words, a seller's markup or spread can count.

Virtual currency was written into these definitions, and the "unilaterally execute or indefinitely prevent" language was added, by a law that took effect January 1, 2023. How these definitions apply to a particular individual seller is a legal question, and often an important one.

Penalties, by amount in any 12-month period

• More than $300 but less than $20,000 (currency, monetary value, payment instruments, virtual currency, or, since October 1, 2026, payment stablecoins): third-degree felony, up to 5 years.
• $20,000 to less than $100,000 (currency, monetary value, payment instruments, or virtual currency): second-degree felony, up to 15 years.
• $100,000 or more (same): first-degree felony, up to 30 years.

On top of the usual penalties, the court may impose a fine of up to the greater of $250,000 or twice the value involved (for a second or later violation, the greater of $500,000 or five times the value). A person who violates the law is also liable for a civil penalty of up to the greater of the value involved or $25,000.

Those are the general maximums, not what every case gets.

Your own words matter more in these cases

This law has an unusual rule. In these prosecutions, the usual requirement that the State prove a crime happened independent of the defendant's own statements does not apply. A defendant's confession or admission can come in at trial if the judge finds, at a hearing outside the jury's presence, that it is trustworthy, after the State proves by a preponderance of the evidence that there is enough corroborating evidence to show it is trustworthy. That makes what you say to an undercover buyer or an agent especially important.

Money laundering and structuring

Florida's money laundering and structuring laws often appear in the same case, and the structuring law expressly covers evading the reporting and registration requirements of chapter 560. We cover those laws on our Money Laundering and Structuring page.

Federal: 18 U.S.C. § 1960 and Registration

Unlicensed money transmitting business (18 U.S.C. § 1960)

It is a federal crime to knowingly conduct, control, manage, supervise, direct, or own all or part of an unlicensed money transmitting business. The maximum is 5 years and a fine. A business counts as "unlicensed" under this law if it affects interstate or foreign commerce and any one of these is true:

1. it operates without a required state money transmitting license where that is a state misdemeanor or felony, whether or not the defendant knew a license was required or that operating without one was a crime;
2. it fails to comply with the federal registration requirement (31 U.S.C. § 5330) or its regulations; or
3. it otherwise involves transporting or transmitting funds the defendant knew came from a crime, or that were intended to promote or support unlawful activity.

"Money transmitting" includes transferring funds on behalf of the public by any means.

So "knowing" works differently in different parts of the law. The person must knowingly run the business. Under the first option, the law says the person does not need to have known about the license requirement. Under the third, the government must prove knowledge of the money's criminal source or intended unlawful use.

Federal registration (31 U.S.C. § 5330)

Anyone who owns or controls a money transmitting business must register it with the Secretary of the Treasury, whether or not it is licensed by a state. The statute defines a money transmitting business to include any person who engages as a business in transmitting currency, funds, or value that substitutes for currency (wording in effect since January 1, 2021), including informal money transfer systems, if the business is also required to file federal currency transaction reports under 31 U.S.C. § 5313 and is not a bank or other depository institution. Failing to register carries a civil penalty of $5,000 per violation, with each day counted separately, and it is one of the ways a business can become "unlicensed" under § 1960.

Structuring (31 U.S.C. § 5324)

Breaking up cash transactions to evade federal reporting requirements is a separate federal crime, with up to 5 years, or up to 10 years in aggravated cases. Cash-for-crypto cases sometimes include this charge. See Money Laundering and Structuring and Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion.

Bitcoin ATMs (Virtual Currency Kiosks)

Florida passed a law in 2026 that regulates virtual currency kiosk businesses, the companies that operate bitcoin ATMs. These rules are not in effect yet. Starting January 1, 2027, kiosk businesses must display a fraud warning, limit daily transactions ($2,000 for a new customer and $10,000 for an existing customer), give receipts, and refund a customer's first transaction in certain fraud situations. Kiosk businesses already operating on January 1, 2027 must apply to register with the Office of Financial Regulation within 30 days after that date, and the requirement to be registered before operating takes effect March 1, 2027. The application must include an attestation that the business has, and will follow, blockchain-analytics policies to prevent transfers to wallet addresses linked to known criminal activity. Licensed money transmitters that offer kiosks do not have to register, but they must follow the same customer rules. These rules apply to the companies that run the kiosks. If you operate kiosks or work for a kiosk company, talk to a lawyer about how the new rules and the unlicensed-activity law apply to you.

Undercover Buys and Stings

Many of these cases are built by agents or informants posing as customers. A common pattern: the buyer says the cash came from drug sales or fraud, or asks to avoid ID or paperwork, and then records the seller's answer. Those statements can turn a licensing case into a money laundering case. Whether the government created the crime, and what the seller actually understood, can matter. See Reverse Stings.

Defense Themes

• Personal trades vs. a business. Selling some of your own bitcoin now and then is different from running a business that transmits value for the public. Frequency, volume, advertising, fees, and how customers found you all matter.
• The definitions. Whether what you did meets Florida's definition of a money transmitter or money services business, and the federal definition of a money transmitting business.
• Knowledge. What you knew about the source of the money, and what the law requires you to have known for each charge.
• The amounts. Florida's degrees depend on the total value in a 12-month period. How the State adds up the transactions can change a third-degree felony into a first-degree felony.
• Your statements. What was said in recorded meetings and messages, who said it first, and what it really meant.
• The digital evidence. Wallet addresses, blockchain tracing, messages, and who controlled which accounts.

What to Do If You're Contacted or Arrested

1. Don't explain your trades to police, agents, or a "customer" who starts asking questions.
2. Don't delete apps, wallets, chats, or ads, and don't move your crypto.
3. Don't keep trading while you're under investigation.
4. Write down who contacted you and how, while you remember.
5. Call us at (305) 209-0384.

If you are not a U.S. citizen, see Immigration Consequences. If you expect to be charged, see Self-Surrender. If the government froze or seized your crypto or cash, see Economic & Financial Crimes and Bond & Nebbia Hearings.

Related Pages

• White Collar Crimes
• Money Laundering and Structuring
• Securities Fraud
• Tax Fraud and Tax Evasion
• Reverse Stings

Why Choose Dennis Gonzalez Law, P.A.

• Former Miami-Dade prosecutor.
• Defending people since 2012.
• Super Lawyers recognition and an Avvo Rating of 10.0.
• Bilingual office — se habla español.
• We answer 24 hours a day. Call (305) 209-0384.

You can read about some of our past cases on our Results page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it illegal to sell my bitcoin for cash in Florida?

Selling your own crypto is not automatically a crime. The charges target engaging in the business of money services, or running a money transmitting business, without a license. Whether your activity counts is the key question.

Does Florida's law cover crypto?

Yes. Florida's money services law has expressly included virtual currency since January 1, 2023.

What if the money was legitimate?

An unlicensed money transmitting charge does not always require proof that the money was dirty. But if the government claims you knew funds came from a crime, the case becomes more serious.

Do I have to have known a license was required?

Under one part of the federal law, no: the statute says knowledge of the license requirement is not needed. Other parts of the law, and the Florida charge, raise their own questions about intent and knowledge. Every case needs a careful look.

How is the charge level decided in Florida?

By the total value involved in any 12-month period: over $300 is a third-degree felony, $20,000 or more is a second-degree felony, and $100,000 or more is a first-degree felony.

How fast can you help?

Our office answers 24 hours a day. Call (305) 209-0384.