PLAINWELL (WKZO-AM) — An Allegan County man, whose international trade in weapons was made possible by the Internet, is now facing up to 20 years in federal prison.
Prosecutors say 30-year-old Benjamin Cance of Plainwell has entered a guilty plea to arms trafficking and money laundering.
They claim Cance took payment using Bitcoin and other leave-no-trace digital currency types, and used Darknet to connect with customers.
But Cance is now cooperating with authorities, and is using his knowledge to help the U.S. government in its fight against arms trafficking in northern Europe.
He will be sentenced on Jan. 15. In exchange for his guilty plea, a charge of possessing an unregistered machine gun was dropped.
– John McNeill
