On Thursday, September 10, 2026, the United States government submitted a sentencing memorandum in federal court in Portland, Oregon, recommending a 10-month prison sentence for a Missouri woman who admitted to helping launder more than $371,000 in stolen cryptocurrency.
Breanna Gehlert was charged in a one-count information filed May 12, 2026, with conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, in connection with a scheme carried out with her girlfriend and co-defendant, Kirsten Imler. According to prosecutors, Imler worked for an Oregon company that provided coding support for non-fungible token, or NFT, projects.
In late October or early November 2021, Imler allegedly altered the cryptocurrency address on file with an NFT marketplace so that royalty payments owed to a client — identified in court filings as Adult Victim 1 — were instead diverted to a wallet Imler controlled.
On November 2, 2021, approximately 82.68 Ethereum, then worth about $371,505, was redirected to that wallet. Imler moved the funds to a Coinbase account in her name and later transferred a portion to an anonymous wallet, prosecutors said.
Court filings state that less than two weeks after the theft, Gehlert searched Google for “what kind of evidence do they have to have to charge u with theft of crypto.” Over the following months, Imler transferred roughly 31.34 Ethereum from the anonymous wallet into a Coinbase account Gehlert had opened for that purpose. Gehlert then sent about 6.70 Ethereum back to Imler through a separate account and moved the remaining funds into her personal bank account, according to the memorandum.
Prosecutors said the laundered proceeds were used to buy a truck, fund more than $75,000 in cash withdrawals, and cover living expenses, including over $37,000 spent at Walmart.
Gehlert has signed a plea agreement and is expected to plead guilty. Because she resides in Missouri, her arraignment, guilty plea, and sentencing are scheduled to occur during a single hearing. Under the terms of the agreement, the parties calculated a total offense level of 12, factoring in reductions for a minor role, zero-point offender status, early resolution, and acceptance of responsibility.
The government is seeking a restitution judgment of $371,505, to be paid jointly and severally with Imler, along with a forfeiture money judgment of $62,741, representing funds prosecutors say Gehlert personally received. The memorandum also recommends three years of supervised release following imprisonment.
The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.
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