A 26-year-old man from Colorado named Bryan Connor Herrell, who served as a moderator for AlphaBay, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison. His is the latest AlphaBay-related case to come to a close after authorities seized what was once the dark web’s largest marketplace for ammunitions, drugs, and stolen identities and financial data back in 2017. According to the Department of Justice, Herrell settled over 20,000 disputes between vendors and purchasers for the marketplace.
Stating from the DOJ, Harrell was paid in Bitcoin for his services and operated under the incognito “Penissmith” and “Botah,” but the measures he took to hide his identity wasn’t enough to protect him. When the Royal Thai Police, the FBI, and the DEA executed an arrest warrant for alleged AlphaBay founder Alexandre Cazes at his residence in Bangkok, a laptop was spotted with an unencrypted laptop with files identifying people in associated with the marketplace.
The US Attorney McGregor Scott of the Eastern District of California mentioned in a statement:
“This sentence serves as further proof that criminals cannot hide behind technology to break the law. Operating behind the veil of the darknet may seem to offer shelter from criminal investigations, but people should think twice before ordering or selling drugs online — you will be caught. This office will continue using all means available to pursue darknet-based crimes, particularly those involving fentanyl, opioids, and other dangerous drugs.”
AlphaBay featured up to 300,000 listings and earned up between $600,000 & $800,000 a day in revenue before it was seized.
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