A 31-year-old Austrian has been convicted to 18 months of conditional imprisonment for ordering counterfeit darkweb money — he had priors but just “couldn’t resist” the temptation

January 15, 2019 / Edy / Leave a comment

The Austrian man ordered ten fake €50 banknotes off the Dream Market Toplist and received three €50 notes as a bonus from the deep web merchant.

According to prosecutors, the man gave €100 to a friend and €50 to a Billa supermarket in Weigelsdorf, municipality of Ebreichsdorf. He gave the fake €100 to his friend because he owed him money and was drunk at the time, but as the culprit declares himself, they are no longer friends. The other €50 were spent in a Billa supermarket where the cashier became suspicious of the texture of the money but accepted them regardless.

“The offer appeared on the ‘Dream Market Toplist’, where you can see the latest products. I’ve seen, clicked and ordered,” the suspect declared in court.

The man had priors regarding counterfeit money and amphetamine abuse and was on probation. When the judge asked why he had made such a mistake after one year of good behavior, the accused replied:

“I soon realized that this is nonsense. I could not resist. But then I destroyed the rest of the counterfeit myself because I realized what kind of nonsense it is.”

The man admitted that he entered the darknet in search of amphetamines, but a fake money marketplace caught his eye and couldn’t resist the temptation.

The culprit received an 18-month suspended sentence thanks to his sincerity and favorable circumstances. Furthermore, he tested negative for drug use and is currently under therapy at the Green Circle.

SOURCE: https://www.noen.at/baden/weigelsdorf-vor-gericht-gelandet-falschgeld-im-darknet-bestellt-weigelsdorf-darknet-falschgeld-prozess-gericht-132077887

A credit card scam gang from New York was arrested on 8th of January 2018 for fraudulent transactions of $3 million

January 14, 2019 / Edy / Leave a comment

Hamilton Eromosele, 29-years-old, was the alleged leader of the gang, alongside Youssouf “Slim” Traore and Deja “Mo Bandz” Monet Handsford. The U.S. District Court in Newark accused all three of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. However, Hamilton Eromosele is also indicted for aggravated identity theft.

“To date, the total amount of stolen credit card purchases confirmed as part of the conspiracy is approximately $3 million.” The criminal complaint states.

Hamilton Eromosele, also known as Emmanuel Eromosele or Donald Sele, is the ringleader of the criminal network. He would obtain credit card information from various sources, including the darkweb, and would recruit women through social media platforms. The women would then travel throughout the country to retrieve the illegally purchased goods for a percentage of the earnings.

According to the court affidavit, the U.S. Secret Service raided an apartment in New Rochelle where all three suspects were arrested, besides multiple credit cards scattered all over the apartment. More so, several cards were also thrown out of a window. A fact that might impact their sentence negatively, as the group tried to dispose of evidence. All three of the suspects had previous encounters with criminality:

1. The ringleader Hamilton Eromosele was arrested in 2016, in East Rutherford, New Jersey for the sequestration of a woman in a hotel room involving a credit card scheme feud. Furthermore, the officers found 19 fake Discover credit cards in an adjacent hotel room and 700 credit card credentials on his laptop.

2. Youssouf “Slim” Traore was apprehended in 2017, in Fayetteville, Arkansas for trying to purchase a $4,800 Rolex watch with a Discover card listed to his name but with a stolen account number.

3. Deja “Mo Bandz” Monet Handsford was caught in 2017, in Lyons, Georgia after an Uber driver called the police over suspicions of fraud. More precisely, the chauffeur drove the woman to several stores and paid with numerous credit cards. Shortly after, the police arrived and found four Discover cards hidden in the car, none of which were listed on her name.

Taking into consideration the existence of a criminal past for all suspects, and aggravating factors such as evidence disposal, the criminal group is expected to receive up to 15 years in prison and a fine of $25,000.

SOURCE: https://westfaironline.com/110316/three-arrested-in-new-rochelle-accused-in-3m-stolen-credit-card-ring/

https://www.hg.org/credit-card-fraud.html

Hungarian man sentenced to eight months of incarceration in Austria for ordering €12,000 of darknet speed and ecstasy — busted by his postman

January 14, 2019January 14, 2019 / Edy / Leave a comment

Akas K. is a Hungarian man residing in Austria who ordered €12,000 worth of amphetamine and ecstasy from the darknet under the alias “Johann Wagner.” He ordered multiple parcels to a gas station in St. Margarethen in Burgenland and would resell the drugs back in his Hungarian homeland. He was convicted to eight months in jail and 16 months suspended sentence by the court of Eisenstadt. (photo)

The investigation began when the postman alerted the police. The carrier became suspicious after interacting with the man for a few times. While he was delivering other parcels in the same area, Akas would always hassle the postman by insistently asking about his incoming package. Furthermore, the man spoke a broken German which also raised questions about his identity:

“Do you have a parcel for me, my name is Wagner.”

After the police got involved, a trap was set and shortly after they caught the dealer in flagrant. In the court of Eisenstadt, the drug dealer confessed:

“I’m not addicted myself, I did it solely because I knew I could make a lot of money out of it quickly,” the accused admitted frankly.

After a brief deliberation, the court sentenced him to a partial prison sentence of 24 months, of which eight months have to be served.

Taking into consideration the severe penal accusations, in this case, the offender received a light sentence. International distribution of high-risk narcotics is a serious offense and the fact that his court testimony was so sincere might have been the key to his reduced and suspended sentence.

The German penal code dictates:

“The illicit supply, cultivation, and manufacture of narcotic drugs carry penalties of up to five years’ imprisonment. The penalty range increases to 1-, 2- or 5-15 years in defined aggravating circumstances, which include factors such as larger quantities of narcotic drugs, supplying or involving minors, gang membership and carrying weapons.”

SOURCE: https://www.krone.at/1842936

http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/countries/drug-reports/2018/germany/drug-laws-and-drug-law-offences_en

A 62-year-old man from Spain was arrested as part of Operation Napalm for possession of extremely disturbing child pornography from DarkWeb forums

January 13, 2019January 13, 2019 / Edy / Leave a comment

The Civil Guard of Burgos has arrested, in the framework of Operation Napalm, a 62-year-old man, who lived in the province of Palencia, Spain under the accusations of instigating to prostitution and sexual exploitation, corruption of minors, and possession of pedopornography.

The investigation started in November 2018 when the Commandery of Burgos was informed, as a result of the measures for prevention and risk detection by the Corps personnel, of the possible existence of certain computer files related to the sexual exploitation of children. The Technological Investigation Team of the Judicial Police Organic Unit of Burgos took charge of the investigations, aiming to recover all possible files in immediate circulation, identify its recent owners, arrest the suspects, and organize proof for the criminal case. The PC registry of the suspect verified the existence of images of explicitly pornographic content and “extremely hard” images of young children.

In the house, four storage devices (HDDs) have been confiscated and are being currently under inquiry. Most of the media come from downloads through the deepweb, through “Peer to Peer” programs, or through private forums on the darknet.

“Nothing indicates so far that the victims are within our borders,” the police Command explains.

The Operation has been directed by the Court of Instruction of Carrión de los Condes, Palencia and seeks to root out other implicated members in the file transfers. Spain is both a transit and destination country for children trafficked for sexual purposes and it’s considered the largest host of child pornography in Europe. Since adopting the new European Union laws against child exploitation, the 62-year-old culprit is to be expecting no more than a few years of prison. Unlike other European countries who haven’t adopted the new European Union penal code against pedophiles, Spain has somewhat lowered the de jure punishment for pedopornography crimes. Italy, for example, would theoretically give a much harsher penalty for a similar case, providing a penalty from 8 to 12 years in prison, while the European Union law provides 1 to 3 years or 5 to 10 years for severe cases.

SOURCE: https://www.europapress.es/castilla-y-leon/noticia-detenido-palencia-hombre-62-anos-material-pedofilo-extremadamente-duro-20190112130858.html

https://www.publico.es/sociedad/detenido-hombre-62-anos-material-pedofilo-extremadamente-duro.html

RESOURCE:

http://www.ecpat.org/wp-content/uploads/legacy/Factsheet_Spain.pdf

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32011L0093

Click to access Legislation_on_Child_Pornography_Public1.pdf

A 28-year-old pedophile from Cagliari was arrested for luring three 10-year-olds over popular video games — Fortnite V-Bucks were used as bait

January 12, 2019January 12, 2019 / Edy / Leave a comment

The Postal Police of Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy apprehended a 28-year-old man for solicitation of minors, possession of child pornography, and a third accusation pending investigation. He is indicted for luring three 10-year-olds over the general chat in popular video games and for possession of highly disturbing child pornography. Prosecutors found that in at least one instance, the man offered a €10 Fortnite gift card as bait to one of the children involved in the inquiry.

The investigation began when two mothers of the three children alarmed the police after recognizing suspicious behavior from their respective child.
As described by one of the mothers, her son began to act strangely, especially at night. He desperately wanted to be alone and even shoved his sister out of his room.

More so, after winning the victim’s trust in gaming chats, the pervert would move to WhatsApp to request sexual pictures and videos of the kids. The sexual predator had a lot in common with the infamous “Bored Group,” and pretended to be a 16-year-old teenager or even a 9-year-old.

On 10th of January 2019, a raid was executed at the residence of the accused. His telephone and PC revealed 24 video chats in which the children undress, violent and necrophiliac videos of children, and other highly antisocial media.

“I know I’m sick,” the suspect told the officers.

More worrying is that the fact that the man was known to the authorities for another story related to child pornography in which he had a marginal position. It’s the first time in Italy a pedophile was actively searching victims in such a manner. According to Italian law, he’s risking imprisonment from six to twelve years and fines from €25,822 to € 258,228.

Interview in Italian with officer Francesco Greco (second from left) in which he briefly explains the investigation and warns parents about the dangers of letting kids play video games unsupervised. Report from the conference in Cagliari about the case, courtesy of www.unionesarda.it

SOURCE: https://www.unionesarda.it/articolo/news-sardegna/cagliari/2019/01/10/mi-mandi-una-foto-intima-cagliari-arrestato-pedofilo-136-820627.html

https://www.commissariatodips.it/approfondimenti/pedofilia-online/approfondimenti-normativi.html

A German 36-year-old received a suspended sentence of two years for personal consumption of 125 grams of darkweb amphetamines

January 12, 2019 / Edy / Leave a comment

The Schöffengericht Konstanz court in Radolfzell, Germany recently convicted a 36-year-old man to a suspended sentence of two years, 120 hours of community service, and a bundle of probationary requirements for ordering 125 grams of darkweb amphetamines two years ago, in 2017.

The law enforcement traced the man after the infamous deep web platform AlphaBay was busted in the summer of 2017. Subsequent raids on two platform employees in Dortmund revealed an address label for the 36-year-old culprit from Radolfzell. The handwritten label also indicated the contents for the shipment: 125 grams of amphetamine plus seven grams of cocaine. Fortunately enough for the accused, the cocaine charge was dropped since it was a “present” from the sellers and not a specifically ordered item.

None the less, the raid on the 36-year-old man revealed other drugs. Police entered the culprit’s residence at the start of 2018, finding small amounts of marijuana and hashish, as well as several synthetic drugs and 20 tablets of a strong prescription analgesic. He claimed that he had received the strong, morphine-containing painkillers from a friend with cancer, but it didn’t convince the judge. The defendant had no choice but to confess to illegal drug consumption and possession.

The evidence presented in the District Court of Radolfzell was rather thin. Mostly because of the nature of the court which seeks to expedite criminal cases and private lawsuits through accelerated procedures, the so-called “fast judges.” More so, no witnesses have been presented in the courthouse against the accused. Because, according to the presiding judge, the discovery of the darkweb platforms had drawn an extremely high investigation effort for the processing police officers in Dortmund. Therefore, they would not have time to travel through the country constantly, to testify before numerous local courts. Also important, no specific financial transactions were presented since the accused paid in cryptocurrencies which are almost untraceable.

Luckily for the accused, the judge dismissed the cocaine citation because the shippers packed the seven grams of cocaine without request, for customer loyalty as a “treat,” a common practice in illegal drug trafficking. The man reiterated the fact that he did indeed consume stimulating narcotics to “compensate” his introverted type, but never did cocaine out of principle. Upon hearing such an apparent logical contradiction, the judge replied:

“It could have also been rat poison, what you whistled in there!”

The final verdict of a one-year prison sentence was suspended over two years on “favorable social prognosis,” taking into consideration the fact that the accused “harmed mostly himself.” On top of the two-year prison sentence, he’s required to take periodic urine tests, drug rehabilitation, and 120 hours of community service.

SOURCE: https://www.suedkurier.de/region/kreis-konstanz/radolfzell/Drogenbestellung-im-Darknet-36-Jaehriger-erhaelt-Haftstrafe-auf-Bewaehrung;art372455,10015735

http://www.amtsgericht-konstanz.de/pb/,Lde/1165483

Three Romanian Darknet-supplied dealers get their preventive arrest changed to home arrest by the Criminal Court of Iaşi — the indicted traffickers may be gaining ground in the legal battle against DIICOT prosecutors

January 11, 2019January 11, 2019 / Edy / 1 Comment

Gheorghe Dragoş Stoica, 24 years old, Adrian Iareş, 20 years old, and Mihai Mineaţă, 19 years old, are all from the Romanian city of Iaşi and will later be known as the “cartel” gang from the neighborhood of Mircea cel Bătrân.

The group has been accused of running a large-scale drug trafficking operation throughout the city’s streets and clubs.

According to the indictment, the three had sold prohibited substances to various electronic-music clubs in Iasi. The three young men have ordered multiple drug parcels through the darkweb, using other people in their entourage to receive the packages.

In May 2018, the three ordered nearly 1,500 tablets of ecstasy and 13 grams of cocaine, dividing their drugs according to each one’s contribution in a local forest named Galata. After some of their parcels were stopped at the Frankfurt Airport in Germany, the young people turned to the Netherlands, a country where legislation is more permissive. Later, in June 2018, the dealers made a new order, receiving more than 150 tablets of MDMA and nearly 40 grams of cocaine from the Netherlands. Then the lawmen intercepted the parcel and replaced the drugs with beans and flour. Multiple raids ensued shortly after.

Direcția de Investigare a Infracțiunilor de Criminalitate (DIICOT) police force was hunting the group shortly after the Afterhills festival. The police mention other techno and electronic music clubs: Answer Club (currently closed), Sunrise, Skin (from Ciric), Zone and Under. Traffickers also went to other cities to search for their clients.

“From the cases of recent years, it was found that many young people who participated in such events, where techno-specific music diffused, bought and consumed high-risk drugs on those occasions, knowing that the effects these substances exacerbate their state of ecstasy, energy, hearing sensations, in fact, consuming such substances may lead to severe, sometimes irreversible complications such as heart failure, heart attack, heart attack, kidney failure, dehydration, liver dysfunctions , an abnormal level of toxins in the body, severe hallucinations, impulsivity, anxiety, psychosis, paranoia, and many such effects “, is what DIICOT representatives had to declare.

More so, the group had dubious business initiatives since 2011 when they opened a coffee shop which sold “ethnobotanics” or synthetic marijuana and designer narcotics. The legal gray area allowed the shop to prosper economically for approximately two years and helped the gang to keep their profits, most of which, were not taxed.

Mihai Mineaţă was the only one to give detailed statements to the prosecutors, explaining that they were consuming, not just selling, forbidden substances. Besides ecstasy and cannabis, he said he was selling amphetamines:

“I assume, acknowledge and regret the offenses committed, I did not think it would come to such a thing, and I think one of the reasons was that because of the consumption of such substances I did not think rationally. My parents have a good situation financially, they support me both financially and morally, even my father advised me, on the occasion of the search, to give any drugs to the police, I think we have committed these acts out of stupidity and peer pressure,” declared Mihai.

Although the court’s decision to change the group’s preventive arrest to house arrest is a favorable thing for the accused, it doesn’t necessarily mean it will coincide with the final decision. The anti-drug law in Romania is severe and provides harsh penalties for drug traffickers. Although the nature of the case creates some difficulties for the current criminal system, it’s difficult to speculate a light sentence. Similar cases of international hard-drug trafficking get sentences from ten years upwards.

SOURCE: https://www.ziaruldeiasi.ro/stiri/liceenii-traficanti-de-droguri-prin-cluburi-eliberati-din-arest–208897.html

https://www.ziaruldeiasi.ro/stiri/narcos-de-bahlui-politia-le-a-pregatit-o-surpriza-de-proportii-la-ultima-comanda–203476.html

https://www.jurisprudenta.com/dosare-procese/2018/6434q99q2018qa1.2-99/

Court proceedings were halted against a man accused of buying drugs off the Darknet due to insufficient evidence — he was using the Tor browser and was given an €1800 fine

January 11, 2019January 11, 2019 / Edy / Leave a comment

A man from Haßfurter district, Germany was accused in 2014 for trafficking drugs through the darkweb as a part of operation OP Onimus, a broader national bust on deep web black markets. This Wednesday, 9th of January 2018, the court stop the proceeding due to lacking evidence against the accused, mainly, because the man used the Tor browser on his laptop and cellular.

He was indicted, however, of drug consumption which is a less severe crime than internet drug trafficking. The court decided on an €1800 fine and drug rehabilitation from the non-profit organization Caritas, thus closing the criminal case.

The man was accused of ordering 360 very concentrated ecstasy pills and 200 grams of amphetamine on a darknet platform on seven occasions, with a very high purity of 50 to 70 percent. His house was raided in September of 2017 by the Schweinfurt Federal Criminal Police Office. The police found small amounts of drugs, a joint and drug paraphernalia. Most interesting is the fact that the Tor browser was installed on both his PC and cellphone which cancels browsing data from the device once closed. Because of this, the officials couldn’t prove the drug orders.

To get more information, the authorities would have had to remove the storage media from the laptop. However, the device would have been destroyed, which seemed a disproportionate effort to the officials.

The jury court stopped the proceedings due to lack of evidence, and only accused the defendant of drug consumption. The prosecution reminded the man that bad people inevitably return back to the courthouse. The accused has to pay €1800 and seek drug treatment.

SOURCE:
https://www.mainpost.de/regional/hassberge/Drogenbestellung-im-Darknet-ist-nicht-mehr-nachweisbar;art513833,10150762

https://www.infranken.de/regional/hassberge/das-darknet-gab-nichts-preis;art217,3970070

A man from Nebraska is awaiting sentencing for sending child pornography to an undercover cop

January 9, 2019 / Edy / Leave a comment

Pete C. Blumenthal, 36 years old from Kearney, Nebraska was arrested on 9th of November 2018 for sharing pedopornography over the internet to an undercover officer. The felony charges were supposed to take effect on November the 8th 2018, but the case was sealed until 2nd of January 2018 to protect the on-going investigation.

A preliminary audition is scheduled at the end of January 2019 in Washington, D.C. where he’s currently being held in federal custody without bond. Blumenthal is represented by the public defender appointed to him by the court.

The court affidavit describes the investigation which started on 6th of November 2018. The Child Exploitation Task Force was masquerading and interacting as another participant in online pedophilia groups. Shortly after, a certain “badchicken33” responded to a message sent by the undercover cops. His IP address led back to Pete Blumenthal residence.

The private chat between Pete and the police began, and the culprit initially started sending non-pornographic images of boys and girls. After a while, Pete wanted to make sure he wasn’t stepping into a trap, so he simply asked:

“You’re (sic) not a cop right? Or any kind of agent??” Blumenthal wrote.
To which the officer replied, “Hell no. Perv here.”

Reassured, Pete continued sending more and more graphic images of penetrative and non-penetrative sex between adults and kids. Surely enough, a raid mandate was issued and executed on 36-year-old Pete C. Blumenthal.

The details of the operation aren’t fully known, but the small 3-day time frame of the investigation might indicate that the suspect had no cybersecurity protocols put in place whatsoever. His rather comical question to the undercover police officers seems to confirm the complete absence of experience in internet security. Under federal law, Pete is risking a minimum of 5 years to a maximum of 20 years of incarceration, depending on priors and forensics.

SOURCE: https://www.kearneyhub.com/news/local/kearney-man-federally-charged-with-distribution-of-child-pornography/article_1210190c-135b-11e9-a1e3-ebe6a03c0e13.html

https://www.justice.gov/criminal-ceos/citizens-guide-us-federal-law-child-pornography

Father and daughter from Montana are accused of selling Darknet methamphetamine, carfentanil, ketamine, and Xanax

January 8, 2019 / Edy / Leave a comment

Gregory Paul Green, 63 years old, and his daughter, Brittany Green, 29 years old, from 1716 Westwood Drive, Billings, Montana were arrested for allegedly running a large-scale drug trafficking operation over the deep web in exchange of cryptocurrency, mainly bitcoin.

The U.S. District Court in Billings released a preliminary affidavit on Friday the 4th of January 2019, in which special FBI agent Michael Robinson describes the investigation. The court testimony details the house raid executed just a day before that had brought to light a hidden “clandestine methamphetamine lab” in the basement. Both accused are currently being held under custody at the Yellowstone County Detention Facility without bond under federal charges of conspiracy to distribute schedule II controlled substances. They risk a minimum of 10 years of incarceration and fines starting from $50,000.

The investigation started on 18th of December 2018 after Michigan Customs and Border Patrol officers seized a parcel from Canada destined to Green’s home. More so, the package was labeled “organic fitness vitamin,” but instead, the officers found 1,500 Xanax (alprazolam) tablets.

Two weeks later, on January the 3rd 2019, the FBI raided Green’s house. The leader of the operation, FBI Officer Michael Robinson, wrote the findings of the raid in the affidavit presented in court:

1. Upon accessing the basement, an improvised meth laboratory was discovered. The Billings Fire Department’s hazmat team was called to further inspect and secure the perimeter. Brittany Green declared that the laboratory was not intended to manufacture drugs, but for “washing” them. Meaning that the laboratory was used to remove impurities from the trafficked drugs.

According to Montana Criminal law, the distinction between the two is fairly significant: drug manufacturing and distribution are two distinct criminal accusations which imply different cumulative prison terms;

2. Also in the basement, the agents found hundreds of paraphernalia items, hundreds of feet of glass tubing used to create meth pipes, a 100-pound (45 kg) butane tank, and documented instructions on how to “combine drugs for redistribution,” intended for Brittany Green, the official court affidavit describes;

3. In Gregory’s room on the first floor, the FBI found a computer with the darknet marketplace page displayed from where the pair was selling drugs;

4. Financial paperwork was also secured with indications of bitcoin transactions;

5. A ready-to-go parcel was discovered in the office containing a quarter-ounce (7 grams) of methamphetamine and two Xanax pills;

6. Among many unidentified substances awaiting forensic analysis, carfentanil was also found in the residence.

Gregory Paul and Brittany Green are awaiting sentencing at a currently unknown date.

SOURCE: https://billingsgazette.com/news/crime/billings-man-daughter-accused-of-running-dark-web-drug-operation/article_7259a48d-5d9f-518e-8727-9d74b758e50b.html

https://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/45/9/45-9-101.htm

CryptoWorldAffairs

News and Info about the DarkWeb

Author: Edy