The U.S. Department of Justice has brought charges against German national Owe Martin Andresen for his alleged role in laundering money connected to the defunct darknet marketplace Dream Market. Authorities claim he served as the primary administrator for the platform, which operated between 2013 and 2019. Andresen was apprehended in Germany last week on similar charges filed by German authorities.
According to prosecutors, the accused utilized dormant digital wallets associated with Dream Market’s administration to transfer funds and then converted a portion of those assets into physical gold bars. After the marketplace shut down, its cryptocurrency infrastructure remained idle until late 2022, when activity suddenly resumed. The DOJ asserts that only individuals possessing the original private keys could have initiated these transactions.
In August 2023, Andresen allegedly engaged a crypto service provider based in Atlanta to purchase gold bars from international vendors. These gold bars were reportedly shipped directly to his residence in Germany. The laundering scheme is said to have involved over $2 million between August 2023 and April 2025. During searches conducted on May 7, law enforcement seized approximately $1.7 million in gold bars, more than $23,000 in cash, and records linking to bank accounts and crypto wallets holding an estimated $1.2 million believed to be proceeds from Dream Market activities.
A federal grand jury has indicted Andresen on twelve counts, including six counts of international concealment money laundering and six counts of concealment money laundering. Each count carries a potential penalty of up to 20 years in federal prison. The DOJ emphasizes that Andresen is presumed innocent until proven otherwise in a court of law.
This case is part of broader efforts to combat cryptocurrency-related laundering. Recently, the DOJ finalized the forfeiture of over $400 million in assets tied to Helix, a darknet crypto mixing service. In another instance, a California man was sentenced to 70 months in prison for laundering funds linked to a group responsible for stealing $263 million in cryptocurrency.