Police Arrested Pascal Reid for Bitcoin. Now He’ll Teach Them about It.

If you can’t beat ‘em, teach ‘em.

In a bizarre plea deal reached between Florida resident Pascal Reid and prosecutors, the accused will be educating various law enforcement agencies about Bitcoin.

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Reid was arrested in February last year, along with co-accused Michel Abner Espinoza, on charges of money laundering and unlicensed money transmission using bitcoins. They were busted by an undercover agent during a supposed deal that would have exchanged stolen credit card information for $30,000.

Reid potentially faced up to several years in prison. As part of the plea deal, he pleaded guilty to unlicensed money transmission and will serve only 90 days in prison, and will be credited with time already served between February 7 and March 14 last year.

The highlight of the deal is his expected participation in law enforcement education about digital currency. The court document outlining the deal states:

“The Defendant shall participate in no less than 20 trainings directed towards the education of law enforcement and/or financial institutions in the fields of digital currency and/or cybercrime. The trainings shall be organized and scheduled by Det. Ricardo Arias from the City of Miami Beach Police Department. Trainings that are not organized and/or scheduled through Det. Ricardo Arias will not be credited toward the 20 required trainings. These trainings are a condition of his probation and Defendant has agreed to perform them in lieu of community service and additional jail time.”

He also has to be available for meetings with the Miami Beach Police Department, the United States Secret Service and the Miami Electronic Crimes Task Force “in order schedule, plan, coordinate and research the trainings.”

Reid must also get permission from his probation officer before leaving the Miami area, and notify him within 24 hours if he is arrested again.

In lieu of jail time, Reid is sentenced to 10 years reporting probation, which can be reduced to 5 years if he adheres to the other conditions of the deal.