The Justice Department has filed new charges against James Ellingson, a notorious scammer associated with the criminal marketplace Silk Road.
Ellingson, also known as “redandwhite,” “MarijuanaIsMyMuse,” and “Lucydrop,” allegedly utilized Silk Road to sell various drugs, including methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, LSD, ecstasy, and marijuana, in exchange for bitcoin.
Notably, Ellingson defrauded Silk Road’s founder, Ross Ulbricht, by falsely offering assassination services. The charges against Ellingson include narcotics trafficking conspiracy, narcotics importation conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy, carrying significant prison sentences.
Ellingson’s criminal history includes previous convictions related to drug possession, trafficking, weapon use, assault, and more. The Vancouver-native now faces severe consequences for his actions, with potential life imprisonment for the narcotics-related charges.
IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Thomas M. Fattorusso emphasized that Ellingson’s criminal activities extended beyond money laundering and drug trafficking, as he also claimed to have acted as a middleman for murders-for-hire.
The charges against Ellingson are part of an ongoing effort to apprehend individuals associated with Silk Road, and law enforcement agencies continue to work through the vast amount of data obtained from the servers connected to the platform.
