Reported by Rohan Goswami

James Ellingson allegedly dealt cocaine, LSD, ecstasy and marijuana on Ross Ulbricht’s Silk Road marketplace, and accepted more than $500,000 worth of bitcoin from Ulbricht to carry out a series of murders which he might not have completed, Manhattan federal prosecutors said Thursday.

Ellingson, who allegedly used the alter egos “redandwhite,” “MarijuanaIsMyMuse” and “Lucydrop” on the marketplace, was charged with narcotics-trafficking conspiracy, narcotics-importation conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. If convicted, he could face life in prison.

Federal prosecutors painted Ellingson, 47, as a man who exaggerated his influence and his abilities, noting that he “claimed to have control over most drug trafficking in Western Canada.” Ellingson first reached out to Ulbricht in 2013 to discuss someone who had threatened to leak drug-trafficker and customer information, the prosecutors said.

Read full report: https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2023/05/11/alleged-silk-road-hitman-hit-with-narcotics-money-laundering-charges.html