When crime pays dearly – 3 years after the alleged suicide of Alexandre Cazes, founder of AlphaBay, the case is reopened. Herrell, the moderator of the old platform, received a long prison sentence. Would this conviction be a warning to Darknet criminals?
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11 years in prison for Herrell
The judgment was finally delivered last Tuesday: Bryan Connor Herrell , 26, was sentenced to 11 years in prison by Judge Dale Drozd in charge of his case.
According to US authorities, Mr. Herrell was one of the most prominent moderators of the AlphaBay black market , one of the late references of online smuggling . Before being closed in July 2017 by the FBI , the platform allowed the buying and selling of almost everything that could be banned, relying on regulations in cryptomonnaie .
“This conviction is further proof that criminals cannot hide behind technology to break the law. – McGregor Scott, District Attorney for the Eastern District of California
American authorities in the fight
The American justice has much to do with Bitcoin and cryptomonnaies these days.
Beyond this single example, we have recently lost count of the arrests of first-class scammers and extreme Ponzi scheme builders , operations to track hostile power crypto-operations … or these now banal convictions linked to online drug trafficking.
Through the AlphaBay case , the American authorities are trying to send a strong message. However, this little cat and mouse game is not very likely going to end.