According to the U.S. Government’s civil forfeiture press release, law enforcement agents identified a South Florida resident raking in millions by using an on-line alias to make over 100,000 sales of illicit items and hacked online account information on several of the world’s largest Dark Web marketplaces.
For example, the South Florida resident sold hacked online account information for popular services such as HBO, Netflix, and Uber, among others, and accessed the Dark Web by utilizing the TOR (The Onion Router) Network.
The FBI Seized $34 million in cryptocurrency from the Florida Resident
As detailed in the complaint, records analyses revealed that the South Florida resident utilized so-called “tumblers” and illegal Dark Web money transmitter services to launder one cryptocurrency for another—a technique called “chain hopping”—in violation of federal money laundering statutes.
Law enforcement agents seized various cryptocurrency wallets associated with the illegal Dark Web conduct.
The OCDETF program
The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, and other priority transnational criminal organizations that threaten the citizens of the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence driven, multi-agency approach to combat transnational organized crime.