Coordinating an online community distributed across multiple platforms and countries can be a difficult task – especially when a mistake can lead to much more than just angry users.
And Ronald L. Wheeler III, as the spokesperson and coordinator of the dark web marketplace AlphaBay, is now facing more than just disgruntled users. Specifically, there is a high possibility that he will be convicted of fraud.
According to a March 8 statement from the Department of Justice, 24-year-old Wheeler (also known as “Trappy”) worked as a public relations representative for AlphaBay — a website selling weapons, drugs, hacking tools, and other pleasurable delights — for about two years before it was finally shut down by law enforcement in 2017.
He has been found guilty of “conspiracy to commit device ” for his work on the website.
What exactly did he do in his capacity as a representative for an illegal online marketplace? Pretty mundane things, actually.
“Wheeler’s duties included moderating the AlphaBay sub-account on reddit.com,” the statement notes, “moderating AlphaBay message boards, mediating sales disputes between AlphaBay users, promoting AlphaBay online, and providing non-technical assistance to AlphaBay users.”
Essentially, he kept the “peace” on AlphaBay’s private forums as well as the now-banned AlphaBay subreddit. He was paid in bitcoin for his work there, though the amount is unclear. According to the government, Wheeler was also trying to help customers avoid arrest by the police.
“Wheeler spent hours on the Dark Web and the general Internet providing AlphaBay users with tips in an attempt to evade detection by law enforcement,” U.S. Attorney Byung J. Pak said in the same statement.
It seems, however, that he unfortunately did not follow this advice!
