Gary Davis, besides known every bit Libertas, was ane of the site administrators in addition to forum moderators for Silk Road, then-largest tube marketplace on the Internet used past times thousands of users to sell in addition to purchase drugs in addition to other illegal goods in addition to services.
Silk Road went downward after the police enforcement raided its servers inwards 2013 in addition to arrested its founder Ross William Ulbricht, who has been sentenced to life inwards prison after beingness convicted on multiple counts related to the tube drug marketplace.
The FBI besides seized Bitcoins (worth almost $33.6 million, at the time) from the website. Those Bitcoins were afterwards sold inwards a serial of auctions past times the U.S.A. Marshals Service (USMS).
According to a press release published past times U.S.A. Department of Justice, Davis helped the dark marketplace position website "run smoothly" in addition to provided "customer support" to Silk Road users for assisting them amongst their buyer or seller accounts on the site for several months inwards 2013.
Davis kept Ulbricht in addition to other site administrators informed almost whatever issues reported past times Silk Road users in addition to received a weekly salary for this job.
Davis was arrested inwards Republic of Ireland inwards Jan 2014 in addition to indicted past times U.S. federal prosecutors inwards 2013. He fought extradition inwards Irish Gaelic courts, arguing that incarceration inwards the U.S. could wound his mental wellness in addition to endanger his life, violating his key rights.
However, Ireland's Supreme Court rejected Davis' arguments, in addition to he was extradited to the U.S.A. inwards July 2014.
"Silk Road was a hugger-mugger online marketplace for illegal drugs, hacking services, in addition to a whole host of other criminal activity," Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said inwards a statement.Prosecutors said Silk Road was responsible for selling to a greater extent than than $200 1000000 worth of illegal drugs in addition to other contraband.
"As he admitted today, Gary Davis served every bit an administrator who helped run the Silk Road marketplace. Davis's arrest, extradition from Ireland, in addition to conviction should post a clear message: the purported anonymity of the night Web is non a protective shield from prosecution."
Davis pled guilty to ane count of conspiring to distribute massive quantities of narcotics, facing a maximum of twenty years inwards prison. He is expected to last sentenced on 17 Jan 2019 past times Judge Furman.
