US Government Piles New Charges on 'Variety Jones' Bitcoin Suspect

Joseph Cox writes:

Things have just got a lot worse for the man suspected of being a key player behind Silk Road.

On Friday, an amended complaint was filed against Roger Thomas Clark, who is allegedly “Variety Jones.” Variety Jones was Silk Road's financial advisor, in-house penetration tester, and in the words of Ross Ulbricht, the site's convicted creator, a “mentor.”

The complaint comes with a fresh set of serious charges, including narcotics trafficking, distribution of narcotics by means of the internet, conspiracy to commit and aid and abet computer hacking, and conspiracy to traffic in fraudulent identification documents. Those new allegations are on top of the previous charges of narcotics trafficking conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, and one count of money laundering conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

These bring Clark's charges more closely in-line with those of Ulbricht. Ulbricht was charged, and ultimately convicted of—amongst other things—narcotics trafficking, distribution of narcotics by means of the internet, a computer hacking related charge, as well as conspiracy to traffic in fraudulent identification documents.

Judging by the new accusations, the US government feels that Clark played an important role in Silk Road; one that would justify bringing up charges that mirror many of those Ulbricht faced.

Clark was arrested on December 3 in Thailand, according to a US Attorney's Office press release.

For a fascinating exchange between Cox and Clark in the days leading up to his arrest be sure to read: The Variety Show