DeepDotWeb Operator Pleads Guilty to Laundering $8.4M in Bitcoin Kickbacks
Tal Prihar admitted to taking bitcoin payments from darknet marketplaces in exchange for referral links.
One of the administrators of darknet news site DeepDotWeb pleaded guilty to federal money-laundering conspiracy charges, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday.
Tal Prihar, a 37-year-old Israeli based in Brazil, admitted to receiving 8,155 BTC (worth $8.4 million at the time) from vendors whose illicit products he linked to as the former administrator of the now-defunct blog.
He further admitted to moving the crypto through a web of shell companies in an attempt to launder the funds.
Prosecutors described Prihar as a “broker” for drug and gun vendors whose illicit merchandise lies beyond the reach of Google and other web crawlers. Users of the unindexed dark web usually must know where to look beforehand, but with DeepDotWeb, one of the better-known dark web sites from 2013 to 2019, they found a ready guide.
Prosecutors said he acknowledged DeepDotWeb was a “gateway to numerous dark web marketplaces” that rewarded him with bitcoin kickbacks for every order his site referred.
Read more: Serbian Man Indicted for Embezzling $7M Through Fraudulent Crypto Schemes
FBI agents seized the DeepDotWeb domain in May 2019 alleging money laundering. Prihar and Michael Phan, another Israeli, were arrested and indicted shortly thereafter. Phan’s case is ongoing.
Prihar agreed to forfeit $8.4 million, prosecutors said. His sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 2. He could face a maximum sentence of 20 years.
More For You
‘The banks will not accept it’: Dimon escalates battle over stablecoin rewards in CLARITY Act debate
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon criticized Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and warned the current CLARITY Act framework could ultimately fail, as banks and crypto firms clash over whether stablecoin issuers should be allowed to offer yield-bearing rewards that resemble bank deposits.
What to know:
- JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon criticized Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and warned that the latest CLARITY Act draft could fail if lawmakers do not address banks’ concerns over stablecoin regulation on Friday.
- Dimon argued that the bill would let stablecoin issuers effectively pay interest on deposits without bank-style protections, predicting...
