A damsel in distress. Plural of Mongoose Update.

[AlwaysBlue]

...Like I said yesterday, December 10th is the day we will know what he gets.

anyone have an update yet?

Sentencing postponed again. https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71 ... s-v-clark/

PoM sits in MDC indefinitely

[Munchy]

thanks. has anyone written to POM or know the correct address to do so, and/or to send him commissary funds?

[Munchy]

for whatever it's worth, sent a message to Trump
at: newsadmin@whitehouse.gov
requesting a pardon for Roger Thomas Clark

[Blackie]

Southern District of New York
U.S. Attorneys » Southern District of New York » News » Press Releases
Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Southern District of New York

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/co ... ement-silk

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, December 18, 2020

Computer Programmer Sentenced To Prison For Making False Statements About His Involvement In The “Silk Road” Website

Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that MICHAEL R. WEIGAND, a/k/a “Shabang,” a/k/a “~Shabang~,” a/k/a “~s,” a/k/a “s,” was sentenced to eight months in prison today for making false statements to federal agents about his involvement in, and his work for, the “Silk Road” online illicit black market, which was responsible for distributing hundreds of millions of dollars of narcotics and other contraband. WEIGAND’s false statements concealed his role in the operation of the Silk Road website. WEIGAND previously pled guilty before United States District Judge William H. Pauley III, who also imposed today’s sentence.

Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “Michael Weigand supplied technological advice directly to the leadership of Silk Road, a secret online marketplace for criminal activity. He laundered Silk Road proceeds and traveled overseas to remove Silk Road evidence from a co-conspirator’s residence. Weigand subsequently lied to law enforcement, falsely claiming to have done nothing for Silk Road, and has now been sentenced to prison for that knowing falsehood.”

According to the Information, court filings, statements made in court, and evidence presented during the 2015 trial of Ross Ulbricht, Silk Road’s founder and chief administrator:

Ulbricht created Silk Road in approximately January 2011, and owned and operated the underground website until it was shut down by law enforcement in October 2013. Silk Road emerged as the most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace on the Internet at the time. During its more than two-and-a-half years in operation, Silk Road was used by several thousand drug dealers and other unlawful vendors to distribute hundreds of kilograms of illegal drugs and other illicit goods and services to well over one hundred thousand buyers, and to launder hundreds of millions of dollars deriving from these unlawful transactions. Silk Road was specifically designed to allow its users to buy and sell drugs and other illegal goods and services anonymously and outside the reach of law enforcement through the use of the Tor network and a Bitcoin-based payment system.

WEIGAND, a computer programmer and electrical engineer, worked with Roger Thomas Clark, the senior adviser to Ulbricht, on certain aspects of Silk Road. For instance, WEIGAND and Clark worked to identify technological vulnerabilities in the Silk Road website. WEIGAND also supplied technological advice directly to Clark and Ulbricht. After Silk Road was shut down in October 2013, WEIGAND laundered more than $75,000 in Silk Road proceeds. In addition, in late 2013, the Government disclosed that it had been able to access the contents of Ulbricht’s laptop computer, which identified Clark as Ulbricht’s right-hand man; shortly after this revelation, Clark transferred more than $20,000 to WEIGAND in Bitcoin, and WEIGAND traveled to Clark’s London residence and removed Silk Road evidence.

In January 2019, WEIGAND was questioned by IRS and FBI Special Agents. After being specifically warned that it is a federal crime to make a false statement to a federal law enforcement officer, WEIGAND attempted to cover up his involvement in Silk Road by falsely stating, among other things, that (1) he never opened an account on Silk Road; (2) he never used the online pseudonyms “Shabang” or “~Shabang~”; (3) he never transferred Bitcoin to Silk Road; (4) he never exposed computer security vulnerabilities in the Silk Road website; (5) he never communicated with anyone who used the online pseudonym “Dread Pirate Roberts,” “DPR,” or “Silk Road” (i.e., Ulbricht); (6) he never performed any services for the Silk Road website; and (7) he did not know the true identity of “Variety Jones” (one of Clark’s pseudonyms) on Silk Road. WEIGAND also falsely stated that the purpose of his trip to London in late 2013, following the takedown of the Silk Road website and arrest of Ulbricht, was to meet with Clark’s associate regarding a marijuana seed business; in fact, WEIGAND went to Clark’s London residence and removed physical Silk Road evidence.

In addition to his prison term, WEIGAND, 59, of Kirtland, Ohio, was sentenced to three years of supervised release.

The founder and operator of Silk Road, Ross Ulbricht, was previously convicted of seven offenses after a jury trial: distributing narcotics, distributing narcotics by means of the Internet, conspiring to distribute narcotics, engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, conspiring to commit computer hacking, conspiring to traffic in false identity documents, and conspiring to commit money laundering. Ulbricht was sentenced principally to life in prison and $183 million in forfeiture.

Ulbricht’s senior adviser, Roger Thomas Clark, pled guilty to conspiring to distribute narcotics and his sentencing is currently pending. Clark faces a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison.

* * *

Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding joint efforts of the Boston Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, the New York and Washington Field Offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations, and the New York City Police Department. Ms. Strauss also thanked the FBI’s Cleveland Office for its assistance.

This case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Michael D. Neff is in charge of the prosecution.

Topic(s): Cyber Crime
Component(s): USAO - New York, Southern
Contact: James Margolin, Nicholas Biase
(212) 637-2600
Press Release Number: 20-296
Updated December 18, 2020

[Jesús Malverde]

Ha, I just came here to post the same thing. Fake Shabang gets 8 months, its gonna make whatever Roger gets sentenced to (unless it's time served) pretty unfair.

[bentech]

In his final weeks in office before Joe Biden's inauguration, President Donald Trump is weighing granting clemency to Ross Ulbricht, the founder and former administrator of the world's most famous darknet drug market, Silk Road, The Daily Beast has learned. According to three people familiar with the matter, the White House counsel's office has had documents related to Ulbricht's case under review, and Trump was recently made aware of the situation and the pleas of the Silk Road founder's allies. Two of these sources say the president has at times privately expressed some sympathy for Ulbricht's situation and has been considering his name, among others, for his next round of commutations and pardons before the Jan. 20 inauguration of his 2020 Democratic opponent.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-con ... ng-charges

[Prawn Connery]

Poor old fake ~shabang~

We all knew him. He was one of us. If he's reading this, I'm so sorry for you mate.

I feel sorry for PoM also, but PoM always sailed close to the wind while me other ol' mate was perhaps a tad naive to tag along. I hope Ross gets his pardon too. Hopefully FS (fake ~s~) will be out in a few months on good behaviour and/or time served.

[dill786]

he will be out in 3 months with good behaviour.....

[WhiteHotAfterburner]

Well it may have been the coins that Tony stole from Ross that set off the whole murder for hire part of the story, but I’m still fairly confident that it was a part of the pre-sentencing bullshit the government goes through with defendants before their plea is finalized.

Mongoose had to have his ducks in a row before 11.6.2020.

Like I said yesterday, December 10th is the day we will know what he gets.

Could you please post his sentencing submission which is now on the docket? I don't have access to PACER

Thank you sir

It'd be a pretty big post if I were to do so.

63_Page_01.jpg

Damn ZIP file has quite a few attachments

1-15-cr-00866-WHP.zip

Man, I tried getting through all of this just to find out if there was a commissary fund I could donate to. I got about a dozen pages in - and while it is an interesting thread, thanks Smokes! - I headed to the last page and backed up in the pages to find an appropriate post in which to ask about it.

Is there a inmate fund for Mr. Clark?

PoM never did me wrong. He was always kind and considerate to me. He sent me some goodies out of pocket.

I hope he is well and lives through his sentence. I hope to possibly chat at least one more time with him. To at least read his words again. He is a great story teller. IF I can buy him some treats or needs while he's doing his time it is the least I can do and I'm willing right now to do it!

You're not bad writer either, Smokes. Well done, sir!

Regards,
WHAB

[smokebreaks]

Thanks WHAB, and welcome back. I am honestly not an overly verbose guy these days.
I was just reading the DOJ release about the ~s persona from the DOJ...

I hate to say it, and someday he's likely to read this, and it sucks to be that guy... truthfully.

I thank god I never had anything to do with the whole damn thing but the person I have the most empathy for is Ross.

The craziest part of the story? Mongoose well... he's always been full of shit but he was always entertaining as hell.

I really hope they let him get the fuck outta here after all the bullshit that he went through in Thailand.

[WhiteHotAfterburner]

Thanks WHAB, and welcome back. I am honestly not an overly verbose guy these days.
I was just reading the DOJ release about the ~s persona from the DOJ...

I hate to say it, and someday he's likely to read this, and it sucks to be that guy... truthfully.

I thank god I never had anything to do with the whole damn thing but the person I have the most empathy for is Ross.

The craziest part of the story? Mongoose well... he's always been full of shit but he was always entertaining as hell.

I really hope they let him get the fuck outta here after all the bullshit that he went through in Thailand.

You're welcome, smokes! And, thank you...good to be back.

Well, you certainly have a knack for it...

Yeah...all of it is fucked up on a certain level...adults putting in their own bodies substances they voluntarily consume fully knowing the ramifications or consequences of doing so. And, yeah, I hope they all get out - quickly. On top of that, I hope they all have something stashed to carry them through.

All the very best to ya, smokes!

,
WHAB

[EthicalGrower]

Southern District of New York
U.S. Attorneys » Southern District of New York » News » Press Releases
Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Southern District of New York

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/co ... ement-silk

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Friday, December 18, 2020

Computer Programmer Sentenced To Prison For Making False Statements About His Involvement In The “Silk Road” Website

Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that MICHAEL R. WEIGAND, a/k/a “Shabang,” a/k/a “~Shabang~,” a/k/a “~s,” a/k/a “s,” was sentenced to eight months in prison today for making false statements to federal agents about his involvement in, and his work for, the “Silk Road” online illicit black market, which was responsible for distributing hundreds of millions of dollars of narcotics and other contraband. WEIGAND’s false statements concealed his role in the operation of the Silk Road website. WEIGAND previously pled guilty before United States District Judge William H. Pauley III, who also imposed today’s sentence.

Acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “Michael Weigand supplied technological advice directly to the leadership of Silk Road, a secret online marketplace for criminal activity. He laundered Silk Road proceeds and traveled overseas to remove Silk Road evidence from a co-conspirator’s residence. Weigand subsequently lied to law enforcement, falsely claiming to have done nothing for Silk Road, and has now been sentenced to prison for that knowing falsehood.”

According to the Information, court filings, statements made in court, and evidence presented during the 2015 trial of Ross Ulbricht, Silk Road’s founder and chief administrator:

Ulbricht created Silk Road in approximately January 2011, and owned and operated the underground website until it was shut down by law enforcement in October 2013. Silk Road emerged as the most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace on the Internet at the time. During its more than two-and-a-half years in operation, Silk Road was used by several thousand drug dealers and other unlawful vendors to distribute hundreds of kilograms of illegal drugs and other illicit goods and services to well over one hundred thousand buyers, and to launder hundreds of millions of dollars deriving from these unlawful transactions. Silk Road was specifically designed to allow its users to buy and sell drugs and other illegal goods and services anonymously and outside the reach of law enforcement through the use of the Tor network and a Bitcoin-based payment system.

WEIGAND, a computer programmer and electrical engineer, worked with Roger Thomas Clark, the senior adviser to Ulbricht, on certain aspects of Silk Road. For instance, WEIGAND and Clark worked to identify technological vulnerabilities in the Silk Road website. WEIGAND also supplied technological advice directly to Clark and Ulbricht. After Silk Road was shut down in October 2013, WEIGAND laundered more than $75,000 in Silk Road proceeds. In addition, in late 2013, the Government disclosed that it had been able to access the contents of Ulbricht’s laptop computer, which identified Clark as Ulbricht’s right-hand man; shortly after this revelation, Clark transferred more than $20,000 to WEIGAND in Bitcoin, and WEIGAND traveled to Clark’s London residence and removed Silk Road evidence.

In January 2019, WEIGAND was questioned by IRS and FBI Special Agents. After being specifically warned that it is a federal crime to make a false statement to a federal law enforcement officer, WEIGAND attempted to cover up his involvement in Silk Road by falsely stating, among other things, that (1) he never opened an account on Silk Road; (2) he never used the online pseudonyms “Shabang” or “~Shabang~”; (3) he never transferred Bitcoin to Silk Road; (4) he never exposed computer security vulnerabilities in the Silk Road website; (5) he never communicated with anyone who used the online pseudonym “Dread Pirate Roberts,” “DPR,” or “Silk Road” (i.e., Ulbricht); (6) he never performed any services for the Silk Road website; and (7) he did not know the true identity of “Variety Jones” (one of Clark’s pseudonyms) on Silk Road. WEIGAND also falsely stated that the purpose of his trip to London in late 2013, following the takedown of the Silk Road website and arrest of Ulbricht, was to meet with Clark’s associate regarding a marijuana seed business; in fact, WEIGAND went to Clark’s London residence and removed physical Silk Road evidence.

In addition to his prison term, WEIGAND, 59, of Kirtland, Ohio, was sentenced to three years of supervised release.

The founder and operator of Silk Road, Ross Ulbricht, was previously convicted of seven offenses after a jury trial: distributing narcotics, distributing narcotics by means of the Internet, conspiring to distribute narcotics, engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, conspiring to commit computer hacking, conspiring to traffic in false identity documents, and conspiring to commit money laundering. Ulbricht was sentenced principally to life in prison and $183 million in forfeiture.

Ulbricht’s senior adviser, Roger Thomas Clark, pled guilty to conspiring to distribute narcotics and his sentencing is currently pending. Clark faces a maximum potential sentence of 20 years in prison.

* * *

Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding joint efforts of the Boston Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, the New York and Washington Field Offices of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations, and the New York City Police Department. Ms. Strauss also thanked the FBI’s Cleveland Office for its assistance.

This case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Michael D. Neff is in charge of the prosecution.

Topic(s): Cyber Crime
Component(s): USAO - New York, Southern
Contact: James Margolin, Nicholas Biase
(212) 637-2600
Press Release Number: 20-296
Updated December 18, 2020

[Prawn Connery]

Do you know what would be really funny?

If someone posted up your real personal details and casually mentioned the fact that you were colluding with PoM around the same time he was helping Ulbricht with Silk Road.

That would be hilarious.

[EthicalGrower]

Do you know what would be really funny?

If someone posted up your real personal details and casually mentioned the fact that you were colluding with PoM around the same time he was helping Ulbricht with Silk Road.

That would be hilarious.

[EthicalGrower]

Amazing how one can be so wrong, yet so sure.

{TEXT}

[Roots]

...or in my case, confused.