Anthony Murgio and Yuri Lebedev of Florida charged in Manhattan in bitcoin scheme, prosecutors say

Two Florida men were charged Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan with using a collectibles website and a New Jersey credit union as fronts for an unlicensed bitcoin business, officials said.

Prosecutors said Anthony Murgio, 31, of Tampa, and Yuri Lebedev, 37, of Jacksonville, used their bitcoin exchange to aid criminal transactions, first hiding its dealings behind a website called Collectables.com, and later in a credit union for low-income residents they took over.

They did millions of dollars in business with thousands of customers, prosecutors said. The two were charged with conspiracy, operating an unlicensed money transmitting business and money laundering. They were taken into custody in Florida, officials said.