U.S. charges man says linked to Silk Road successor site in drug scheme
By Nate Raymond
Jan 20 (Reuters) - U.S. authorities announced charges Tuesday against a Washington state man they say assisted in the management of the successor website to Silk Road, an online black market bazaar where drugs and other illicit goods could be bought with bitcoin.
Brian Farrell, 26, was arrested late Friday on a charge of conspiracy to distribute heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine in connection with a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Seattle that outlined his alleged role as a staff member for the Silk Road 2.0 website.
Farrell's arrest came as a trial continued in New York federal court in the case of Ross Ulbricht, the alleged operator of the original Silk Road, which authorities say Ulbricht ran under the alias "Dread Pirate Roberts."
Silk Road 2.0 was launched late in 2013, weeks after authorities had shuttered the original Silk Road website and arrested Ulbricht.
Like the original website, Silk Road 2.0 allowed users to anonymously buy and sell drugs, computer hacking tools and other illicit items, using the digital currency bitcoin, authorities said.
In November, federal authorities in Manhattan announced they had shut down Silk Road 2.0 and arrested its alleged operator, Blake Benthall, who prosecutors say operated the website under the name "Defcon."
Prosecutors say Farrell was a key assistant to Benthall and was part of a small staff of online administrators and forum moderators, using the moniker "DoctorClu."
Earlier this month, U.S. authorities executed a search warrant on his residence in Bellevue, Washington, and interviewed Farrell, the complaint said.
After being confronted with the fact that an IP address for the residence was linked to Silk Road 2.0, Farrell said he worked as Defcon's righthand man and served as his spokesman, the complaint said.
A lawyer for Farrell could not be reached for comment Monday. Benthall's lawyer declined comment.
The case is U.S. v. Farrell, U.S. District Court, Western District of Washington, No. 15-mj-00016. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler)
