Top aide to Silk Road arrested
December 5, 2015
Roger Thomas Clark was arrested on December 3, facing extradition to the US on charges related to his role in helping Ross Ulbricht, the convicted creator of Silk Road.
A criminal complaint had been filed in federal court in Manhattan, New York, under US Attorney Preet Bharara against the 54-year-old Canadian citizen. An IRS agent documented that Clark had helped to sell heroin, cocaine and other drugs online on the Silk Road platform between January 2011 and October 2013.
Authorities said that during that time Clark went by the online alias "Variety Jones."
What is Silk Road?
Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht had been sentenced to life in prison in May for his role running the online platform. The indictments against him included narcotics conspiracy and money laundering.
Silk Road operated for more than two years, generating $213 million (195 million euros) in sales, prosecutors said. The website allowed users to anonymously buy drugs using the virtual currency, bitcoin. The platform, which relied on the Tor network on what is known as the Darknet, was seized by US authorities in 2013 as they arrested Ulbricht.
ss/rc (AP, Reuters)