The Verge - Crackdown on Silk Road, the underground drug markethttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52801/VER_Logomark_32x32..png2018-06-18T11:25:14-04:00http://www.theverge.com/rss/stream/45626032018-06-18T11:25:14-04:002018-06-18T11:25:14-04:00Alleged top Silk Road adviser extradited to US to face charges
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<p id="ppXqCp">The Silk Road has been defunct for nearly five years after Ross Ulbricht, who founded the dark web staple, was apprehended, arrested, and <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/5/31/15723094/silk-road-founder-ross-ulbricht-appeal-lose">given a life prison sentence</a> without parole. Now, the US courts have caught up with Roger Clark, Ulbricht’s alleged mentor, adviser, and confidant in all things related to the dark web marketplace. This past Friday, the US Attorney’s office announced Clark’s extradition to the United States to face newly unsealed charges for his role in Silk Road’s operation. </p>
<p id="9eIhSs"><a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/manhattan-us-attorney-announces-extradition-senior-adviser-operator-silk-road-website">The indictment</a> states that Clark (also known as “Variety Jones,” “VJ,” and “Cimon”) was a “real mentor” to Ulbricht over the course of Silk Road’s operation, and he ran much of the back end of the site. He allegedly hired programmers to maintain...</p>
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https://www.theverge.com/2018/6/18/17474650/silk-road-variety-jones-roger-clark-indictmentShoshana Wodinsky2016-01-13T10:28:03-05:002016-01-13T10:28:03-05:00Ross Ulbricht's defense files appeal to have Silk Road convictions thrown out
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<p>In a massive appeal brief filed yesterday, Ross Ulbricht's attorney asked a court to overturn the conviction of his client, who was found guilty last year of orchestrating online drug bazaar the Silk Road.</p>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2016/1/13/10759744/ross-ulbricht-appeal-brief">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/2016/1/13/10759744/ross-ulbricht-appeal-briefColin Lecher2015-09-01T15:03:10-04:002015-09-01T15:03:10-04:00A Silk Road task force agent has pled guilty to stealing $820,000 in bitcoin
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<p>One of the federal officers charged with investigating the Silk Road marketplace <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/sanfrancisco/press-releases/2015/former-silk-road-task-force-agent-pleads-guilty-to-money-laundering-and-obstruction">has pled guilty</a> to obstruction of justice and money laundering. US Secret Service agent Shaun Bridges was part of the interagency Baltimore team investigating the online marketplace and took over an administrator account on the service as part of the investigation. Ultimately, Bridges used the account to reset passwords and steal roughly 20,000 bitcoin from various wallets on the service, ultimately redeeming them for $820,000. Bridges' sentencing hearing is set for December 7th.</p>
<p>Bridges acted in concert with Carl Mark Force, a fellow secret service agent <a href="http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/07/corrupt-silk-road-agent-pleads-guilty/">who pled guilty in July</a>, after selling the movie rights to his recollections for $240,000. The two...</p>
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https://www.theverge.com/2015/9/1/9240989/shaun-bridges-silk-road-guilty-carl-mark-force-dread-pirate-robertsRussell Brandom2015-02-04T15:49:47-05:002015-02-04T15:49:47-05:00Ross Ulbricht found guilty of Silk Road conspiracy charges
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<p>Today in a federal courthouse in Manhattan, Ross Ulbricht has been found guilty of charges stemming from his role in the founding and operation of the Silk Road. After nearly four hours of deliberation, the jury found Ulbricht guilty on all seven counts, including charges of narcotics conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, and engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise. The Silk Road offered a platform for quasi-anonymous transactions, shielded by Tor's anonymity network and the transaction-masking properties of Bitcoin, and hosted more than $100 million in drug transactions before it was shut down by law enforcement in October of 2013.</p>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2015/2/4/7973733/ross-ulbricht-silk-road-trial-verdict-found-guilty">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/2015/2/4/7973733/ross-ulbricht-silk-road-trial-verdict-found-guiltyRussell Brandom2015-01-15T22:19:05-05:002015-01-15T22:19:05-05:00Mt. Gox CEO says he isn't Silk Road's Dread Pirate Roberts
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<p>Mark Karpeles, the CEO of <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/26/5450206/who-stole-400-million-from-mt-gox">stricken Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox</a>, has denied any involvement in the online black market Silk Road.</p>
<p>Earlier today in the trial of Ross Ulbricht, <a href="http://motherboard.vice.com/read/mt-gox-ceo-i-have-nothing-to-do-with-silk-road-ross-ulbricht-dread-pirate-roberts">accused of running Silk Road</a> under the pseudonym Dread Pirate Roberts, a DHS agent <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/15/7553591/silk-road-trial-ross-ulbricht-mt-gox-mark-karpeles">said under cross-examination</a> that Karpeles had been a prime suspect in the investigation before attention fell on Ulbricht. Lawyers for the defense implied, if not outright argued, that Karpeles was the real Dread Pirate Roberts and had wanted to artificially inflate the value of Bitcoin.</p>
<p><q class="right">"I have nothing to do with Silk Road."</q></p>
<p>But Karpeles has ridiculed the suggestion in an <a target="_blank" href="http://motherboard.vice.com/read/mt-gox-ceo-i-have-nothing-to-do-with-silk-road-ross-ulbricht-dread-pirate-roberts" style="background-color: #ffffff;">email to <em>Motherboard</em></a>. "This is probably going to be disappointing for you, but I am not Dread Pirate Roberts," he...</p>
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https://www.theverge.com/2015/1/15/7555021/mt-gox-ceo-denies-silk-road-involvementSam Byford2015-01-15T16:15:13-05:002015-01-15T16:15:13-05:00The Silk Road trial just took a crazy twist implicating Mt. Gox
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<p>What if the real mastermind behind the Silk Road drug market wasn't Ross Ulbricht, who's currently charged with running the site, but Mark Karpeles, the CEO of the ill-fated Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox? According to <a href="http://motherboard.vice.com/read/defense-in-silk-road-trial-says-mt-gox-ceo-was-the-real-dread-pirate-roberts?gbb" target="new">new developments in the trial today</a>, it's not as crazy as it sounds. DHS agent Jared Deryegnan admitted under cross examination that the agency had suspected Karpeles of running the site and had prepared an affidavit to search Karpeles' email as part of the Silk Road investigation. One of Karpeles' companies had registered "Silkroadmarket.org," leading investigators to consider him as a suspect. Other evidence ultimately implicated Ulbricht, convincing even Deryegnan, but for a long time, the investigation saw Karpeles as a...</p>
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https://www.theverge.com/2015/1/15/7553591/silk-road-trial-ross-ulbricht-mt-gox-mark-karpelesRussell Brandom2014-11-07T10:08:39-05:002014-11-07T10:08:39-05:00International crackdown on online drug markets leads to 17 arrests, multiple shutdowns
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<p>The international law enforcement push that<a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/11/6/7168063/fbi-and-homeland-security-shut-down-silk-road-2-arrest-alleged"> led to the arrest </a>of alleged Silk Road 2 operator Blake Benthall has also shut down several other online drug and illegal goods marketplaces and made over a dozen arrests. This morning,<a href="https://www.europol.europa.eu/content/global-action-against-dark-markets-tor-network"> Europol revealed</a> the extent of Operation Onymous, a mission carried out with the help of Eurojust, the FBI, the US Department of Homeland Security, and other agencies. According to a statement, 17 sellers and site admins were arrested, and around 410 hidden services ("darknet" servers that are accessible only through a browser using privacy software Tor) were shut down. The operation seized $1 million in bitcoins, the preferred currency of darknet markets, along with around $225,000 (€180,000) in "cash, drugs,...</p>
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<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2014/11/7/7173173/international-crackdown-on-online-drug-markets-leads-to-17-arrests">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.theverge.com/2014/11/7/7173173/international-crackdown-on-online-drug-markets-leads-to-17-arrestsAdi Robertson