ATLANTA (AP) — An Illinois man who worked as a spokesman for a “darknet” marketplace used for illegal online sales is scheduled to be sentenced in federal court in Atlanta.
Ronald L. Wheeler III of Streamwood, Illinois, pleaded guilty in March to a charge of conspiracy to commit access device fraud.
Prosecutors say Wheeler, known online as Trappy and Trappy Pandora, began working as AlphaBay’s public relations specialist in May 2015. They say he helped traffic in personal information, using it without authorization to obtain money, goods and services.
Authorities have said AlphaBay was the world’s leading darknet marketplace — where people traded in illegal drugs, firearms and counterfeit goods — before it was taken down by an international law enforcement effort in July 2017.
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