Moderator of Darknet Marketplace AlphaBay Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison

A Colorado man who mediated disputes on the now-defunct darknet marketplace Alphabay has been handed a lengthy prison sentence.

According to a Tuesday press statement by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ), 26-year-old Bryan Connor Herrell received an 11-year prison term from U.S District Court Judge Dale Drozd.
Herrell was responsible for settling disputes between vendors and consumers concerning trades in illicit goods such as drugs and guns, often paid for using bitcoin.
He was also responsible for monitoring attempts to defraud users of the darknet marketplace and operated under the monikers "Penissmith" and "Botah."
"This sentence serves as further proof criminals cannot hide behind technology," said U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott.
People should think again before buying or selling drugs online: "You will be caught," Scott said.
Prior to being shut down by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in July 2017, AlphaBay was a popular marketplace for illicit items including stolen identities, credit cards and narcotics.
In February, 36-year-old Ohio resident Larry Dean Harmon, former CEO of Coin Ninja, was charged by U.S. law enforcement with laundering more than $300 million in bitcoin for AlphaBay.
Harmon's family denied he was ever involved directly with AlphaBay, with his brother claiming the marketplace used Harmon's cryptocurrency mixer Helix without his consent or input.
Mixers allow users to obfuscate the source of a cryptocurrency payment by outputting different coins than are sent.
Alphabay users traded using cryptocurrency like bitcoin because payments are outside the banking system and are semi-anonymous.
However, transactions are traceable on most blockchains and can ultimately be used by law enforcement to link criminals to their activities.

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Sebastian Sinclair

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