Security News > 2022 > January > DeepDotWeb News Site Operator Sentenced to 8 Years for Money Laundering

An Israeli national was sentenced to 97 months in prison in connection with operating the DeepDotWeb clearnet website, nearly a year after the individual pleaded guilty to the charges.

He pleaded guilty to money laundering charges in March 2021 and agreed to forfeit the illegally amassed profits.

DDW, until its seizure in May 2019, ostensibly served as a "News" website that connected internet users with underground marketplaces on the dark web that operate via darknets such as Tor, enabling the purchase of illegal firearms, malware and hacking tools, stolen financial data, heroin, fentanyl, and other illicit materials.

Prihar, acting in cohorts with co-defendant Michael Phan, 34, of Israel, provided direct links to illegal marketplaces and in return for advertising these links, reaped substantial profits by receiving kickbacks from the operators of the marketplaces in the form of virtual currency amounting to 8,155 bitcoins.

Separately, the DoJ also publicized the sentencing of an associate of the Dark Overlord hacking group for his role in possessing and selling more than 1,700 stolen identities, including social security numbers, on the dark web marketplace AlphaBay.

"The vast majority of these items were stolen identities, including names, dates of birth, social security numbers, and other personally identifiable information."

News URL

https://thehackernews.com/2022/01/deepdotweb-news-site-operator-sentenced.html