Security News > 2021 > April > DeepDotWeb Admin Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering Charges

The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday said that an Israeli national pleaded guilty for his role as an "Administrator" of a portal called DeepDotWeb, a "News" website that "Served as a gateway to numerous dark web marketplaces."

According to the unsealed court documents, Tal Prihar, 37, an Israeli citizen residing in Brazil, operated DDW alongside Michael Phan, 34, of Israel, starting October 2013, in return for which they received kickbacks from the operators of the marketplaces in the form of virtual currency amounting to 8,155 bitcoins.

"Tal Prihar served as a broker for illegal Darknet marketplaces - helping such marketplaces find customers for fentanyl, firearms, and other dangerous contraband - and profited from the illegal business that ensued," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the DoJ's Criminal Division.

"This prosecution, seizure of the broker website, and forfeiture send a clear message that we are not only prosecuting the administrators of Darknet marketplaces offering illegal goods and services, but we will also bring to justice those that aim to facilitate and profit from them."

The referral links included listings for underground marketplaces such as AlphaBay, Agora, Abraxas, Dream, and Valhalla, which traded in illegal firearms, malware and hacking tools, stolen financial data, heroin and fentanyl, and other contraband.

In addition to pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, Prihar has also agreed to forfeit the entire proceeds amassed from each purchase of illegal goods made on a dark web marketplace linked to the DDW site.

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