Criminal Empire in the Dark Web Collapses
A federal court in the US has sentenced the operator of the prohibited cryptocurrency-based drug market Incognito Market. Brett Christien Hicks was found guilty on several counts, including organizing a criminal enterprise, money laundering, and illegal drug trafficking. As punishment, Hicks was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
According to the investigation, Incognito Market has been operating in the Dark Web since 2016 and has become one of the largest criminal markets specializing in the sale of drugs, weapons, and other prohibited goods. All settlements on the platform were made exclusively in cryptocurrencies, which allowed the owners to hide the traces of their criminal activities.
Interestingly, Hicks used rather sophisticated methods to control the vendors. He intimidated them with threats to publish information about their cryptocurrency wallets and transactions, essentially blackmailing the vendors. In this way, he siphoned off additional commissions from them.
This case has become another high-profile failure for the shadow economy in the Dark Web, which is increasingly falling under the scrutiny of law enforcement. Cryptocurrencies can no longer guarantee anonymity, and the organizers of underground markets are facing increasingly severe penalties. The harsh sentence handed down to Hicks should serve as a warning to anyone trying to build a criminal empire based on new technologies.