Ross Ulbricht's Advisor "Variety Jones" Imprisoned
~2 min read | Published on 2023-07-13, tagged Darkweb-Market, Darkweb-Vendor, Sentenced using 295 words.
A Canadian man described by Ross Ulbricht as a "real mentor" was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for distributing drugs through Silk Road.
As disclosed in court documents, 61-year-old Roger Thomas Clark went by the usernames “Variety Jones,” “Plural of Mongoose,” “VJ,” and “cimon,” on Silk Road and was the most influential person in Ulbricht's operation of the marketplace.
In his Journal, Ulbricht detailed how Variety Jones helped him identify a major security bug in the marketplace. Their relationship allowed Variety Jones to advise him on every aspect of running the marketplace.
Chat logs acquired by law enforcement revealed that Clark advised Ulbricht to;
Chat logs from the computer also revealed that Clark had moved from the UK to Thailand in late 2012. He was arrested in Thailand on December 3, 2015. He was extradited to the US on June 15, 2018.
Clark pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute narcotics on January 30, 2020.
In addition to the 20-year prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein sentenced Clark to three years of supervised release and ordered him to forfeit over $1.6 million on July 11, 2023.
Roger Thomas Clark
As disclosed in court documents, 61-year-old Roger Thomas Clark went by the usernames “Variety Jones,” “Plural of Mongoose,” “VJ,” and “cimon,” on Silk Road and was the most influential person in Ulbricht's operation of the marketplace.
In his Journal, Ulbricht detailed how Variety Jones helped him identify a major security bug in the marketplace. Their relationship allowed Variety Jones to advise him on every aspect of running the marketplace.
Chat logs acquired by law enforcement revealed that Clark advised Ulbricht to;
- Develop a “cover story” and change his username on the marketplace to make it look like he had sold Silk Road.
- Hire programmers to help in improving and maintaining Silk Road's infrastructure.
- Make security improvements including ensuring everyone on the marketplace used PGP encryption.
- Promote the marketplace to increase its sales volume.
- Order a murder-for-hire against a Silk Road staff accused of stealing from the marketplace.
Chat logs from the computer also revealed that Clark had moved from the UK to Thailand in late 2012. He was arrested in Thailand on December 3, 2015. He was extradited to the US on June 15, 2018.
Clark pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute narcotics on January 30, 2020.
In addition to the 20-year prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein sentenced Clark to three years of supervised release and ordered him to forfeit over $1.6 million on July 11, 2023.
