A man from the State of Maryland has been apprehended on charges of illegally distributing medicines via darknet, and using cryptocurrency in money laundering.
According to a criminal complaint, 32-year-old William Anderson Burgamy IV, is accused for distributing controlled substances (including oxycodone and amphetamine) via the darknet.
Additionally, the offense description states that the suspect committed the crime of money laundering by hiding and disguising the scale and origin of illegal financial proceeds obtained through dark web-enabled drug distribution acts.
Court documents provide an account of how the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) started investigating Burgamy from as early as December 2019. A probe that began with a profile review of the suspect’s Empire Market vendor account, progressed into a full-fledged undercover operation before he was arrested at his residence.
Vendor on Empire Market
Burgamy, an individual that lacked a background in pharmacy training, is reported to have owned a darknet vendor profile named NeverPressedRX since as early August 2019.
Investigators found out that NeverPressedRX’s store advertised purported authentic medicines, including a host of prescription opioids obtained from licensed pharmacies across the U.S. The darknet vendor store boasted of securing thousands of sales on the popular dark web market.
It is alleged that Burgamy laundered the profits derived from the business through crypto cash outs involving Bitcoin, which was the mode of payment used by buyers to secure orders from the dark web vendor. The cash outs, which were in U.S. dollars, would then be transmitted through a cascade of bank accounts in a bid to hide the scale and origin of the criminal proceeds.
A Series of Undercover Operations
A press release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia intimated the scope and nature of the investigation that led to the arrest of the darknet vendor.
The FBI investigation into the Burgamy case exposed the vendor’s email address, Jabber address and his username in the Wickr application. To succeed in the investigation, law enforcement agents contacted the vendor through the accounts provided on the NeverPressedRX’s profile.
A coordination effort between law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Attorney’s Office executed a number of undercover operations targeting NeverPressedRX. In the probe, agents made numerous covert purchases of drugs advertised by the darknet vendor profile before identifying the real owner of the account.
Thereafter, a number of surveillance operations established a trail on Burgamy before moving in to arrest the suspect.
Eventual Arrest
After two undercover purchases, authorities acted on a search warrant to fish out the suspect from his residence. The raid led law enforcement agents to unearth a large consignment of prescription pills, and a cache of weapons that include two AR-15 assault firearms.
Burgamy has been charged with the unlawful distribution of controlled drugs and money laundering – a set of charges that, if convicted, attracts a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison.
Otherwise, it is common knowledge that a large number of actual sentences fall way below the maximum sentencing limits. The case will be decided by a district court judge who will make a decision on a sentence based on the prevailing statutory circumstances and the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
While commenting on the success of the operation targeting the darknet suspect, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia expressed his gratitude towards the local law enforcers who executed the task amid the raging coronavirus pandemic.
In his remarks, this case has been central to the interests of public safety and it’s only the selflessness of the operation’s enablers that the suspect was apprehended pending further legal action.
A man from the State of Maryland has been apprehended on charges of illegally distributing medicines via darknet, and using cryptocurrency in money laundering.
According to a criminal complaint, 32-year-old William Anderson Burgamy IV, is accused for distributing controlled substances (including oxycodone and amphetamine) via the darknet.
Additionally, the offense description states that the suspect committed the crime of money laundering by hiding and disguising the scale and origin of illegal financial proceeds obtained through dark web-enabled drug distribution acts.
Court documents provide an account of how the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) started investigating Burgamy from as early as December 2019. A probe that began with a profile review of the suspect’s Empire Market vendor account, progressed into a full-fledged undercover operation before he was arrested at his residence.
Vendor on Empire Market
Burgamy, an individual that lacked a background in pharmacy training, is reported to have owned a darknet vendor profile named NeverPressedRX since as early August 2019.
Investigators found out that NeverPressedRX’s store advertised purported authentic medicines, including a host of prescription opioids obtained from licensed pharmacies across the U.S. The darknet vendor store boasted of securing thousands of sales on the popular dark web market.
It is alleged that Burgamy laundered the profits derived from the business through crypto cash outs involving Bitcoin, which was the mode of payment used by buyers to secure orders from the dark web vendor. The cash outs, which were in U.S. dollars, would then be transmitted through a cascade of bank accounts in a bid to hide the scale and origin of the criminal proceeds.
A Series of Undercover Operations
A press release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia intimated the scope and nature of the investigation that led to the arrest of the darknet vendor.
The FBI investigation into the Burgamy case exposed the vendor’s email address, Jabber address and his username in the Wickr application. To succeed in the investigation, law enforcement agents contacted the vendor through the accounts provided on the NeverPressedRX’s profile.
A coordination effort between law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Attorney’s Office executed a number of undercover operations targeting NeverPressedRX. In the probe, agents made numerous covert purchases of drugs advertised by the darknet vendor profile before identifying the real owner of the account.
Thereafter, a number of surveillance operations established a trail on Burgamy before moving in to arrest the suspect.
Eventual Arrest
After two undercover purchases, authorities acted on a search warrant to fish out the suspect from his residence. The raid led law enforcement agents to unearth a large consignment of prescription pills, and a cache of weapons that include two AR-15 assault firearms.
Burgamy has been charged with the unlawful distribution of controlled drugs and money laundering – a set of charges that, if convicted, attracts a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison.
Otherwise, it is common knowledge that a large number of actual sentences fall way below the maximum sentencing limits. The case will be decided by a district court judge who will make a decision on a sentence based on the prevailing statutory circumstances and the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
While commenting on the success of the operation targeting the darknet suspect, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia expressed his gratitude towards the local law enforcers who executed the task amid the raging coronavirus pandemic.
In his remarks, this case has been central to the interests of public safety and it’s only the selflessness of the operation’s enablers that the suspect was apprehended pending further legal action.
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