In Miami, Dark Web Trafficker Forfeits About $700,000 in Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash
French national Gal Vallerius pleaded guilty to charges of engaging in a conspiracy to distribute narcotics and money laundering before U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola Jr. in June. Vallerius was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Tuesday.
October 10, 2018 at 03:20 PM
2 minute read
A French national has been sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to using cryptocurrency to facilitate drug deals on the dark web.
Gal Vallerius was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert N. Scola Jr. to 20 years in prison on Monday. The proceedings, which took place in the Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. U.S. Courthouse, followed Vallerius' entry of a guilty plea on charges of conspiracy to distribute narcotics as well as conspiracy to commit money laundering in June.
As part of his plea agreement, Vallerius forfeited 99.98947177 bitcoin and 121.94805811 bitcoin cash to the government. Despite their similar names, bitcoin and bitcoin cash are two separate crypocurrencies with separate values.
Collectively, Vallerius' forfeiture is worth $712,309.94.
Read Vallerius' plea agreement:
A press release from the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida explains that Vallerius helped operate Dream Market, “one of the largest dark web criminal marketplaces.”
“Vallerius first participated in the conspiracy by becoming a vendor on Dream Market. As a vendor, he sold Oxycodone and Ritalin under the moniker 'Oxymonster,'” the press release said. “Shortly thereafter, Dream Market employed the defendant who acted at times as an administrator and senior moderator. In these positions, he played a role supporting the daily illicit transactions between buyers and vendors on Dream Market, such as trafficking in narcotics, and the laundering of illicit proceeds using virtual currencies, Dream Market's tumblers and the dark web.”
Attorney Anthony J. Natale represented Vallerius in court, alongside fellow public defender Lauren F. Krasnoff.
“Everything which needed to be said was written in our pleadings and orally presented at the hearing,” Natale told the Daily Business Review, declining to comment further.
Bitcoin-Related stories:
'Scream These Facts': Miami-Dade Attorneys Trade Barbs in $11.4 Billion Bitcoin Lawsuit
Who Is Satoshi Nakamoto and Could a South Florida Case Unmask the Enigmatic Bitcoin Creator?
What Could the Rise of Cryptocurrencies Mean for South Fla. Businesses?
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Greenberg Traurig, Holland & Knight Leaders Expect AI Investments to Jump in 2025
5 minute read
Data Breaches, Increased Regulatory Risk and Florida’s New Digital Bill of Rights
7 minute read
Second Circuit Ruling Expands VPPA Scope: What Organizations Need to Know
6 minute readTrending Stories
- 1'A Death Sentence for TikTok'?: Litigators and Experts Weigh Impact of Potential Ban on Creators and Data Privacy
- 2Bribery Case Against Former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin Is Dropped
- 3‘Extremely Disturbing’: AI Firms Face Class Action by ‘Taskers’ Exposed to Traumatic Content
- 4State Appeals Court Revives BraunHagey Lawsuit Alleging $4.2M Unlawful Wire to China
- 5Invoking Trump, AG Bonta Reminds Lawyers of Duties to Noncitizens in Plea Dealing
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
