PEOPLE

Alleged Silk Road ‘murders-for-hire’ merchant hit with narcotics, money laundering charges

May 12th, 2023

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.

“I wouldn’t mind if he was executed,” Ulbricht allegedly wrote to Ellingson. “I would like to put a bounty on his head if it’s not too much trouble for you.”

Academy - Guaranteed Best Prices


A “clean” kill would cost Ulbricht “300k+ USD,” Ellingson allegedly wrote in response. “Prices pay for 2 professional hitters including their travel expenses and work they put in.”

Federal prosecutors said there’s no evidence that Ellingson ever carried out the murders Ulbricht allegedly paid him for.

“A thumbnail of a deleted photograph purporting to depict a man lying on a floor in a pool of blood with tape over his mouth was recovered from Ulbricht’s laptop after his arrest,” the prosecutors’ statement noted.

Ulbricht, who was sentenced to life in prison in 2015, has repeatedly insisted that he is innocent. Silk Road was seized and shut down by the FBI in 2013.

Curated By

Ricardo Vega
Investigative Street Correspondent | Immersion Journalism Producer | Underground Culture Documentarian
Ricardo Vega is an independent, boots-on-the-ground journalist who dives headfirst into the stories that mainstream outlets ignore. From derelict urban ruins and underground music scenes to extreme sports fringes and the overlooked edges of city life, he lives the stories he tells. With a Gonzo spirit and a Rolodex packed with street artists, underground athletes, indie musicians, and everyday voices rarely heard on network news, Ricardo delivers raw, immersive reporting that gets its hands dirty and its pulse racing. Ricardo doesn’t observe from a distance—he embeds, experiences, and brings back the unfiltered truth with authentic voices and gritty perspective. Fiercely independent in his politics and approach, Ricardo chases the real heartbeat of subcultures and forgotten places, where the sanitized narratives of corporate media never reach.

Suggested Reading

Silk Road

"Silk Road" is a non-fiction book written by Eileen Ormsby, published in 2014. It is an investigative account of the rise and fall of the darknet marketplace, Silk Road, which operated as a platform for the sale of drugs, weapons, and other illegal items. The book is based on Ormsby's extensive rese...

American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road

In 2011, a twenty-six-year-old libertarian programmer named Ross Ulbricht launched the ultimate free market: the Silk Road, a clandestine Web site hosted on the Dark Web where anyone could trade anything—drugs, hacking software, forged passports, counterfeit cash, poisons—free of the government’s wa...

Tracers in the Dark: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency

Over the last decade, a single innovation has massively fueled digital black markets: cryptocurrency. Crime lords inhabiting lawless corners of the internet have operated more freely—whether in drug dealing, money laundering, or human trafficking—than their analog counterparts could have ever dream...

We use cookies to improve your experience on our website. By continuing to browse, you accept our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.