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A man from Ohio in the United States of America was given a four-year prison sentence after being caught on camera in a bathtub filled with dollars. He allegedly stole 713 Bitcoins froma now- seized computer device.Agents stumbled uponhis picture in a cash tub at a nightclub after the Bitcoins disappeared from the The Internal Revenue Service's (IRS)device.

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After entering a guilty plea in January, Gary Harmon, 31, was sentenced on Thursday by US District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, DC, as reported by NewsBytes.

He also agreed according to the US Justice Department, to forfeit cryptocurrency and other assets totaling more than $20 million.

In April 2020, Harmon had copied eight Bitcoin wallets that had been kept on a device in an evidence locker at the Internal Revenue Service using his brother's login details.

The 713 Bitcoins he stole were worth $4.9 million at the time. For laundering $311 million in cryptocurrency transactions on Darknet platforms, Harmon's brother Larry was accused in February 2020.

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After it disappeared from the device, a photo was found on Harmon's mobile phonewhere he was sittingin a cash-filled bathtub.

Prosecutors claim that Harmon used some money to buy an expensive condo in Cleveland and put up 68 Bitcoins as security for a $1.2 million loan.

Harmon learned that his brother had kept Bitcoins on a Trezor device, but that the authorities needed the "seed phrase" to access them.

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Bitcoins can be handled by someone who has that phrase plus an additional pin.

"While the conduct was certainly illegal, it is practically no different and no more sophisticated than obtaining a key to a safe deposit box and taking the contents of that box," Harmon's lawyer said.

The prosecutors, however, refuted the assertions made by the attorney.

Due to Harmon's 21 months of "extremely harsh conditions" in custody, Harmon's attorney requested a sentence of three years.

Harmon consented to the confiscation of cryptocurrencies and other assets that were the proceeds of the theft,including more than 647.41 Bitcoin (BTC), 2.14 Ethereum (ETH), and 17,404,400.64 Dogecoin (DOGE). Because of the increase in market prices, the total value of these forfeitable properties exceeds $20 million.

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Ohio Bitcoin thief photographed in cash-filled bathtub gets 4-year jail term - WION