In an exclusive article, Epic Magazine reports that a former employee of the underground drug market Silk Road had his death faked by undercover federal agents after they were hired to assassinate him by the site's alleged founder.

Written by Joshua Davis, an Epic Magazine co-founder who has already sold the rights to his story on Silk Road to movie producers, the article focuses on Curtis Clark Green, an administrator at Silk Road for just three months from November 2012 to January 2013. Within that short space of time, Green managed to get himself into a colossal amount of trouble. He describes himself as a 47-year-old grandfather who works at a nonprofit helping people with learning disabilities. He says he got involved in Silk Road because of his "interest in harm reduction related to drug use," and chatted on the site's forums under the aliases "flush" and "chronicpain" before later being hired as an administrator.

In a document submitted as part of a guilty plea in court, Green explains that his primary role at Silk Road was in customer services, answering questions, resolving disputes, and solving other problems. Additionally, he contributed to a weekly report by Silk Road administrators that highlighted possibly fraudulent sellers and potential law enforcement activity on the site.

The trouble started for Green in December last year, when Silk Road kingpin "Dread Pirate Roberts," believed to be Ross Ulbricht, asked Green to assist in the search for someone who could afford to purchase large quantities of drugs from another Silk Road user. Unbeknown to Ulbricht and Green, the Silk Road seller was actually an undercover agent working to take down the marketplace. A buyer was eventually found, and negotiated with the undercover agent to purchase a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of cocaine. For reasons not specified in the document, and unknown to both Ulbricht and the undercover agent, Green agreed to act as a middleman for the buyer, and took delivery of the drugs. Agents then stormed Green's Utah home, discovering 1,092 grams of cocaine.

According to the statement Green gave to Epic Magazine — it's important to note this was not included in the document handed to the court — he was told by federal agents that Ulbricht had paid an undercover agent to murder him. He says agents faked his death, taking photos as evidence. Green pled guilty to conspiring with others to traffic in controlled substances, and is currently free pending sentencing next February. His case is but a small sideshow when compared to Ulbricht's. The alleged founder of Silk Road is currently in New York for a decision on whether he'll be released on bail, and Green's testimony is likely to play a part in his eventual trial.