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The 61-year-old Canadian said that he was proud and ashamed of his involvement in the digital drug empire.
One of the key players in the Silk Road shadow market who sold drugs over the Internet was sentenced to 20 years in prison and a fine of $ 1.6 million.
According to local prosecutors, Roger Thomas Clark, a 61-year-old Canadian citizen known online under the pseudonym Variety Jones, advised Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, on all aspects of his work. Ulbricht called Clark his « real mentor », who inspired him and helped « create a brand that people can trust ».
Clark had previously served a prison term after being arrested in Thailand in 2015 and extradited to the United States in 2018. Clark's lawyer claimed that his client was mistreated in a Thai prison and blatant medical negligence in an American prison. His hearing was adjourned several times due to a pandemic, limited access to legal materials, and injuries and illnesses in prison.
39-year-old Ross Ulbricht, also known as Dread Pirate Roberts, is already serving a life sentence after being convicted in 2015 for managing Silk Road.
During its existence from 2011 to 2013, Silk Road was used by thousands of drug dealers to distribute prohibited substances and other illegal goods and services to more than 100 thousand buyers and to launder hundreds of millions of dollars from these illegal transactions.
According to the prosecution, Clark told Ulbricht about the weaknesses in the security of the site, the technical infrastructure, the rules that regulated users and sellers of the platform, as well as the principles of promoting and selling drugs on the network.
Clark also helped Ulbricht develop the « cover » to create the appearance that Ulbricht sold Silk Road. He also collected information to counter law enforcement efforts to investigate the enterprise.
In addition, Clark suggested that Ulbricht order the murder of one of his employees, which, however, was not committed, but Ulbricht paid the alleged killer $ 80 thousand for work, believing, that she is done.
« Roger Thomas Clark was the central figure in helping the Silk Road leadership and in defending this digital drug empire », — said Damian Williams, the responsible American prosecutor.
Clark said his work on Silk Road has always been motivated by a political belief that drugs should be legalized. He claimed that hundreds of millions of dollars in shadow drug deals, which he facilitated, were relatively safer than physical transactions. In court, he said that he was proud and ashamed of his participation in Silk Road.
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One of the key players in the Silk Road shadow market who sold drugs over the Internet was sentenced to 20 years in prison and a fine of $ 1.6 million.
According to local prosecutors, Roger Thomas Clark, a 61-year-old Canadian citizen known online under the pseudonym Variety Jones, advised Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, on all aspects of his work. Ulbricht called Clark his « real mentor », who inspired him and helped « create a brand that people can trust ».
Clark had previously served a prison term after being arrested in Thailand in 2015 and extradited to the United States in 2018. Clark's lawyer claimed that his client was mistreated in a Thai prison and blatant medical negligence in an American prison. His hearing was adjourned several times due to a pandemic, limited access to legal materials, and injuries and illnesses in prison.
39-year-old Ross Ulbricht, also known as Dread Pirate Roberts, is already serving a life sentence after being convicted in 2015 for managing Silk Road.
During its existence from 2011 to 2013, Silk Road was used by thousands of drug dealers to distribute prohibited substances and other illegal goods and services to more than 100 thousand buyers and to launder hundreds of millions of dollars from these illegal transactions.
According to the prosecution, Clark told Ulbricht about the weaknesses in the security of the site, the technical infrastructure, the rules that regulated users and sellers of the platform, as well as the principles of promoting and selling drugs on the network.
Clark also helped Ulbricht develop the « cover » to create the appearance that Ulbricht sold Silk Road. He also collected information to counter law enforcement efforts to investigate the enterprise.
In addition, Clark suggested that Ulbricht order the murder of one of his employees, which, however, was not committed, but Ulbricht paid the alleged killer $ 80 thousand for work, believing, that she is done.
« Roger Thomas Clark was the central figure in helping the Silk Road leadership and in defending this digital drug empire », — said Damian Williams, the responsible American prosecutor.
Clark said his work on Silk Road has always been motivated by a political belief that drugs should be legalized. He claimed that hundreds of millions of dollars in shadow drug deals, which he facilitated, were relatively safer than physical transactions. In court, he said that he was proud and ashamed of his participation in Silk Road.
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