Silk Road Figure Variety Jones Claims Corrupt FBI Agent Is Making Threats
Variety Jones, believed by some to be the Silk Road architect and a mentor to Ross Ulbricht, claims a corrupt FBI agent has threatened him for not agreeing to help him access a bitcoin wallet worth $70 million, according to a report by digital journalist Joseph Cox in Motherboard .
Jones says the agent wants him to move to Singapore where he will set up a safe house and told him immigration police are hunting him in Thailand where he lives. The agent had previously leaked Jones secret grand jury information and also tipped him ahead of the investigations into Carl Mark Force and Shaun Bridges who were convicted of stealing from Silk Road. The title of this Motherboard article is: “Variety Jones: A Corrupt FBI Agent is Hunting Me, So I’m Turning Myself In.”
In a post on myplanetganja.com , a cannabis enthusiast forum, Jones wrote that the FBI agent has been making more than $1 million a month “committing felonies with abandon just because he can.”
Jones further noted this agent has leaked him grand jury information “in an effort to keep me *out* of the hands of his colleagues,” according to Cox’s report.
Jones Provides Background On FBI Agent
Jones said an anonymous source contacted him months after the closing of Silk Road offering inside information. The source claimed to be an FBI agent and said he could provide tips about investigations into dark web marketplaces. This agent, who called himself “Diamond,” made good on the promise by tipping Jones about the investigations of Carl Mark Force IV and Shaun Bridges, law enforcement agents who stole from Silk Road. This information convinced Jones that Diamond was truly an FBI agent.
Also read: Former Secret Service Agent Pleads Guilty In Silk Road Case, Tried To Change Identity
FBI Agent Allegedly Seeks Jones’ Help
According to Cox’s report:
Diamond also told Jones about the expected closing of the Evolution marketplace in mid-March and that Diamond was carrying out an extortion campaign against them.
Diamond further said he held a bitcoin wallet that had belonged to Ross Ulbricht, the creator of Silk Road that contained $70 million worth of bitcoins.
Jones said Diamond believed he could help access the funds based on his previous work on Silk Road and wanted his help.
When Jones said he told Diamond he did not want to help break into the bitcoin wallet, Diamond (allegedly) began making threats.
If I ever fucked up and fell into the hands of the Feds, he had the reach and knew the people, and most importantly had the funds, to have me killed, Jones wrote.
Diamond then supposedly threatened to kidnap Ross Ulbricht’s sister, mother, or both, and get Ulbricht to give up the pass phrase.
Jones provided a TorChat ID for Diamond in his forum post. While the ID is active, whoever is behind it did not immediately respond to messages, Cox reported.
Jones said he contacted the Assistant U.S. Attorney General for the Southern District of New York, who prosecuted Ulbricht, to warn him of Diamond’s actions.
Motherboard earlier this month published an investigation into Jones’ identity.
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