Streamwood man who did PR for 'darknet' firm stealing IDs gets nearly 4 years
ATLANTA - A Streamwood man who promoted an international criminal online marketplace and assisted people using it for illicit transactions was sentenced Tuesday in Atlanta to nearly four years in federal prison.
Ronald L. Wheeler III, 25, worked for about two years as a public relations specialist for AlphaBay, which federal authorities said was the world's leading "darknet" marketplace when an international law enforcement effort shut it down in July 2017.
Wheeler pleaded guilty in March to a charge of conspiracy to commit access device fraud. Prosecutors said he worked with others to steal personal information - including passwords, email addresses and bank account numbers - to obtain money, goods and services.
The U.S. Attorney for Georgia's northern district Byung J. Pak and assistant U.S. attorney Samir Kaushal noted the impact of Wheeler's participation in a sentencing memorandum dated July 24.
"Wheeler profited off the ruination of countless individuals' lives by providing access to and promoting AlphaBay, a vast online criminal marketplace that offered stolen, personally identifying information, hacking tools, and a cornucopia of illegal drugs, including Fentanyl," they wrote. "Wheeler put the seriousness of his crimes best when, in discussing AlphaBay on reddit.com, he wrote: 'This is how people die.'"
As part of a plea deal, U.S. District Judge Leigh May sentenced Wheeler, 25, to spend three years and 10 months in prison. Additionally, Wheeler agreed to forfeit $27,562 in cash found in his home and 13.97 bitcoins, currently worth more than $100,000.
Wheeler apologized to the judge and told her he has worked since his arrest to get himself on the right path and kick a drug addiction.
"As I move forward, I hope to be able to do right by this country and the world," he said.
While the crime was serious, May said she imposed the relatively light sentence - which both sides agreed to - in part because of the effort Wheeler has made.
"We believe it was a fair sentence," said defense attorney Phillip A. Turner, of Chicago. "The judge gave consideration to all the factors, listened intently and made a decision. We respect the judgment."
Turner described Wheeler as misguided and lacking self-esteem. Having a title bestowed upon him by AlphaBay made him feel important and gave him a sense of belonging, he said.
Known online as Trappy and Trappy_Pandora, Wheeler began working for AlphaBay in May 2015. His duties included moderating the AlphaBay forum on Reddit and posting information about AlphaBay in other Reddit forums, mediating sales disputes among the marketplace's users, providing nontechnical assistance to users and promoting AlphaBay online, prosecutors said.
Wheeler was completely aware he was involved in illegal activity and encouraged lawlessness in others, said Kaushal, adding that he could have faced more serious charges and a more lengthy sentence given the scope of AlphaBay's illegal activities, which included the sale of personal financial information and dangerous drugs.
Prosecutors recommended a lower sentence because when he was caught, he immediately admitted his guilt and began cooperating with the government, Kaushal said.
Wheeler was paid a salary in bitcoin, a digital currency, by Alexandre Cazes, the 25-year-old Canadian owner of AlphaBay who was known online as Alpha02 and Admin, according to a court filing.
AlphaBay used Tor, a network of thousands of computers run by volunteers, to hide its tracks. With Tor, traffic gets relayed through multiple computers, with identifying information stripped at each stop so no single computer knows the full chain.
The court filing says Wheeler's work with AlphaBay ended July 3, 2017. Two days later, Cazes was arrested in Thailand with DEA and FBI assistance, resulting in AlphaBay going offline. Cazes died in Thai police custody on July 12, 2017. The country's narcotics police chief told reporters at the time that Cazes hanged himself in jail just before a scheduled court hearing.
The police agency Europol estimates AlphaBay had done $1 billion in business since its 2014 creation. Cazes had amassed a $23 million fortune as the site's creator and administrator, according to court records.
• Daily Herald staff writer Barbara Vitello contributed to this report.