The organizer of a large marketplace will never see the light of day again.
A 23-year-old Taiwanese man has appeared in federal court on charges of organizing and running the Incognito Market darknet.
Rui-Xiang Lin was detained on May 17 at JFK Airport in New York. According to the US Department of Justice, Lin had absolute power over all aspects of the multi-million dollar operation. He controlled more than a thousand drug sellers, more than 200,000 buyers, and at least one employee who helped manage the site.
During the investigation, in July 2022 and August 2023, law enforcement agencies searched three servers used for the market, where they found dozens of databases with information on 1,312 accounts of sellers, 255,519 accounts of buyers and 224,791 transactions.
Analysis of transaction data revealed an increase in sales volumes over time. For the entire period of operation (since 2020), Incognito Market generated revenue of more than $83.6 million, and Lin, presumably, personally earned at least $4 million. in the form of a 5% commission.
In March 2024, Lin (Pharoah, faro) suddenly closed the market, refusing to return funds to sellers and buyers, and threatened to publish the transaction history of all Incognito Market users if they did not pay him an additional fee (from $100 to $20,000 ). This scheme is called exit scam.
If found guilty, Lin faces a life sentence for participating in ongoing criminal activities. Lin can also receive a life sentence for conspiracy to distribute drugs, up to 20 years in prison for money laundering, and up to 5 years for conspiracy to sell counterfeit and mislabeled medicines.
A 23-year-old Taiwanese man has appeared in federal court on charges of organizing and running the Incognito Market darknet.
Rui-Xiang Lin was detained on May 17 at JFK Airport in New York. According to the US Department of Justice, Lin had absolute power over all aspects of the multi-million dollar operation. He controlled more than a thousand drug sellers, more than 200,000 buyers, and at least one employee who helped manage the site.
During the investigation, in July 2022 and August 2023, law enforcement agencies searched three servers used for the market, where they found dozens of databases with information on 1,312 accounts of sellers, 255,519 accounts of buyers and 224,791 transactions.
Analysis of transaction data revealed an increase in sales volumes over time. For the entire period of operation (since 2020), Incognito Market generated revenue of more than $83.6 million, and Lin, presumably, personally earned at least $4 million. in the form of a 5% commission.
In March 2024, Lin (Pharoah, faro) suddenly closed the market, refusing to return funds to sellers and buyers, and threatened to publish the transaction history of all Incognito Market users if they did not pay him an additional fee (from $100 to $20,000 ). This scheme is called exit scam.
If found guilty, Lin faces a life sentence for participating in ongoing criminal activities. Lin can also receive a life sentence for conspiracy to distribute drugs, up to 20 years in prison for money laundering, and up to 5 years for conspiracy to sell counterfeit and mislabeled medicines.
