Interesting read, some highlights from the complaint:
"40. Based on a review of records provided by the service provider for the Silk Road 2.0 Server (the “Provider”), I have discovered that the server was controlled and maintained during the relevant time by an individual using the email account “blake@benthall.net” (“Benthall Email Account-1")."
"b. I have also reviewed a publicly available profile of “Blake Benthall” on Twitter, another social networking website, which includes a photograph of BENTHALL as the user of the account, depicting the same individual associated with the GitHub account, discussed above. I have reviewed a post on that Twitter profile, dated on or about November 6, 2013, the date when Silk Road 2.0 was publicly launched, stating: “All this talk about the #SilkRoad being back up makes me want to watch ThePrincessBride.”"
"a. I have reviewed records provided by a U S.-based Bitcoin exchanger (“Exchanger-1"), for an account registered under the name “Blake Benthall” and linked to Benthall Email Account-1 (“Bitcoin Account-1”). According to transaction records for Bitcoin Account-1, BENTHALL engaged in his first Bitcoin transaction with Exchanger-1 on or about November 7, 2013, the day after Silk Road 2.0 was publicly launched. The transactional records reflect that, since that date, BENTHALL has received a total of approximately 575.58 Bitcoins into the account through on or about October 28, 2014, and that BENTHALL has exchanged approximately 543.63 of those Bitcoins for United States currency, totaling $273,626.60"
"c. I have reviewed emails from Benthall Email Account-1 reflecting that BENTHALL purchased a luxury vehicle with Bitcoins in late January 2014 - approximately one month after Defcon assumed control of Silk Road 2.0. Specifically, email correspondence indicates that, in or about late January 2014, BENTHALL made a down payment of approximately $70,000 in Bitcoins towards the purchase of a Tesla Model S, worth approximately $127,000 in United States currency."
"b. Records provided by Exchanger-1 regarding Bitcoin Account-1 indicate that on the same date, BENTHALL logged into Bitcoin Account-1, using the identical combination of software: Google Chrome web browser version 35.0-1910.3 and the Apple OS X operating system, version 10.9.0.
"c. According to publicly available information, on or about April 6, 2014, Google Chrome version 35 O.1910.3 was a beta version of the browser,L2 and Apple OS X version 10.9.0 was outdated.B Thus, based on my training and experience, this particular combination of software versions would not have been common among Internet users at the time. The information available to the HSI-UC indicates that Defcon was not using Tor to access the customer support interface at the time, which would have caused Defcon’s browser and operating system to appear differently."
> I have discovered that the server was controlled and maintained during the relevant time by an individual using the email account “blake@benthall.net”
That's pretty f*ing retarded of him.
No, I mean, what an idiot of epic proportions.
Or he is just a fall guy.
This is such a huge WTF to me. I mean, I can rent a server with Bitcoins completely anonymously right this moment from many providers.
> I have reviewed a post on that Twitter profile, dated on or about November 6, 2013, the date when Silk Road 2.0 was publicly launched, stating: “All this talk about the #SilkRoad being back up makes me want to watch ThePrincessBride.”"
It's interesting because this is a retweet yet it's still mentioned as a "post on [his] Twitter profile". I guess that's true, but shouldn't it be mentioned as a retweet in official court documents?
This is a lot of major crimes investigations: if you want to participate in an organized criminal effort (which is what SR2.0 is), you're only as secure as the weakest link in that effort. Worth remembering when SR3.0 comes out. Is it being run by someone else who will put out a hit on a rival, or plow $70k of revenue into a Model S.
You are also, by nature, associating with people with a vastly higher than average risk of being arrested independent of your own conspiracy, and hoping that they will not mention your conspiracy for leniency in problems they got into without you.
Interesting. Are you claiming that OpenBazaar will be free of bugs, exploits, side-channel attacks, etc? Have you done an analysis of the code? Got a link?
Sounds like he confessed to everything after being read his rights, but before he even had a lawyer. His lawyer met him for the first time in court this morning.
Odd all around, like he wasn't at all prepared for this to end up here.
^. Simplest use case I can imagine for big data analysis on financial transactions, detect sudden spikes in income (esp. from different sources) and expenses, flag for further investigation. I'm sure the tax services do this. Banks too, to detect mules and other suspicious activity (repeated transactions of $999 to a different account are suspicious already imo).
Sure, you could theoretically buy a used Tesla with Bitcoins. But it may be hard to find a dealer willing to do that.
There was a story a while ago about someone buying a Tesla with Bitcoins, but it ended up being incorrect. The Bitcoins were exchanged for US Dollars which were then used to buy the car: http://www.cnbc.com/id/101258152
"40. Based on a review of records provided by the service provider for the Silk Road 2.0 Server (the “Provider”), I have discovered that the server was controlled and maintained during the relevant time by an individual using the email account “blake@benthall.net” (“Benthall Email Account-1")."
"b. I have also reviewed a publicly available profile of “Blake Benthall” on Twitter, another social networking website, which includes a photograph of BENTHALL as the user of the account, depicting the same individual associated with the GitHub account, discussed above. I have reviewed a post on that Twitter profile, dated on or about November 6, 2013, the date when Silk Road 2.0 was publicly launched, stating: “All this talk about the #SilkRoad being back up makes me want to watch ThePrincessBride.”"
"a. I have reviewed records provided by a U S.-based Bitcoin exchanger (“Exchanger-1"), for an account registered under the name “Blake Benthall” and linked to Benthall Email Account-1 (“Bitcoin Account-1”). According to transaction records for Bitcoin Account-1, BENTHALL engaged in his first Bitcoin transaction with Exchanger-1 on or about November 7, 2013, the day after Silk Road 2.0 was publicly launched. The transactional records reflect that, since that date, BENTHALL has received a total of approximately 575.58 Bitcoins into the account through on or about October 28, 2014, and that BENTHALL has exchanged approximately 543.63 of those Bitcoins for United States currency, totaling $273,626.60"
"c. I have reviewed emails from Benthall Email Account-1 reflecting that BENTHALL purchased a luxury vehicle with Bitcoins in late January 2014 - approximately one month after Defcon assumed control of Silk Road 2.0. Specifically, email correspondence indicates that, in or about late January 2014, BENTHALL made a down payment of approximately $70,000 in Bitcoins towards the purchase of a Tesla Model S, worth approximately $127,000 in United States currency."
"b. Records provided by Exchanger-1 regarding Bitcoin Account-1 indicate that on the same date, BENTHALL logged into Bitcoin Account-1, using the identical combination of software: Google Chrome web browser version 35.0-1910.3 and the Apple OS X operating system, version 10.9.0.
"c. According to publicly available information, on or about April 6, 2014, Google Chrome version 35 O.1910.3 was a beta version of the browser,L2 and Apple OS X version 10.9.0 was outdated.B Thus, based on my training and experience, this particular combination of software versions would not have been common among Internet users at the time. The information available to the HSI-UC indicates that Defcon was not using Tor to access the customer support interface at the time, which would have caused Defcon’s browser and operating system to appear differently."