Bryan Herrel, a Colorado native, has been sentenced to 11 years for his involvement in moderating disputes on an illegal darknet marketplace called AlphaBay. Herrell was hired by AlphaBay to mediate arguments between vendors and purchasers. However, the site facilitated hundreds of thousands of illegal transactions involving the sale of stolen identities, guns, drugs, credit card numbers, and other illegal contraband.
When Herrell was moderating the site, it was the world’s largest online drug marketplace. Herrell was also tasked with monitoring the site for scammers or fraudsters under the names “Botah” and “Penissmith.” Herrell was paid by AlphaBay in Bitcoin for his work. The founder of AlphaBay, Alexandre Cazes, was indicted in 2017 for running the illicit marketplace.
Read More: Darknet Moderator Jailed for 11 Years
