Roger Thomas Clark, Conspiracy to Distribute Narcotics, New York 2023
New York, NY - Roger Thomas Clark, a/k/a 'Plural of Mongoose,' a/k/a 'Variety Jones,' a/k/a 'VJ,' a/k/a 'cimon,' a/k/a 'CaptainSargeant,' pleaded guilty today to conspiring to distribute massive quantities of narcotics, a charge arising out of his role as the senior adviser to the owner and operator of the 'Silk Road' online illicit black market.
The crime: Clark conspired to distribute massive quantities of narcotics, a charge arising out of his role as the senior adviser to the owner and operator of the 'Silk Road' online illicit black market. During its operation from 2011 until 2013, Silk Road was used by thousands of drug dealers and other unlawful vendors to distribute illegal drugs and other illicit goods and services to more than 100,000 buyers, and to launder hundreds of millions of dollars derived from those unlawful transactions.
According to the allegations in the Superseding Indictment, court filings, statements made in court, and evidence presented during the 2015 trial of Ross Ulbricht, Silk Road's founder, Ulbricht created Silk Road in approximately January 2011, and owned and operated the underground website until it was shut down by law enforcement authorities in October 2013.
Silk Road emerged as the most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace on the Internet at the time, serving as a sprawling black market bazaar where unlawful goods and services, including illegal drugs of virtually all varieties, were bought and sold regularly by the site's users.
While in operation, Silk Road was used by thousands of drug dealers and other unlawful vendors to distribute hundreds of kilograms of illegal drugs and other unlawful goods and services to well over 100,000 buyers, and to launder hundreds of millions of dollars deriving from these unlawful transactions.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said: 'Silk Road was a secret online marketplace for illegal drugs, hacking services, and a whole host of other criminal activity. As he admitted today, Roger Thomas Clark was a central figure in helping to lead Silk Road and in advocating violence to protect the site. Clark even went so far as to urge, and facilitate, the attempted killing of a co-conspirator suspected of stealing from Silk Road.
Outcome: Clark pled guilty before United States District Judge William H. Pauley III. The case is being handled by the Office's Narcotics Unit. The charges and the allegations contained in the Indictment are merely accusations, and Clark is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Cybercrime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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