- The Oxymonster and his role in the biggest dark web.
- The arrest and detention of the Oxymonster.
- The plea deal agreement and the total forfeiture of $700,000 to the government.
Gal Vallerius, a French national with Israeli origins was on Tuesday sentenced to 20 years in prison in Miami. The 36 year old male with an extra large beard pleaded guilty and accepted his involvement in drug trafficking through Dream market; what the police have termed as “one of the largest dark web criminal marketplaces.” Following his arrest in the summer of 2017, Vallerius was facing life in prison and has been aiding the authorities in the investigation to cut a plea deal.
The Origin of the Oxymonster
Vallerius got his nickname Oxymonster for his exceptional brokerage talent in cocaine, opioid and heroin.
His initial residence was the Brittany region of France where he stayed with his wife Yasmin Vallerius and their child.
His mistake was to travel to the United States for the beard growing contest in Texas from where he was arrested. On 31st August 2017, he was arrested on his arrival in Atlanta and detained for questioning and then later arrested.
According to the DEA affidavit, Vallerius’ laptop had the TOR browser, popular for hiding user’s IP address alongside Dream market credentials and $500,000 worth of Bitcoin.
Dream Market is a dark web that acts as a marketplace for buyers and sellers of illicit drugs in Europe and US. The site provides the platform for interaction while concealing true identities of the participants as they make drug deals.
Additionally, it provides technical assistance, dispute resolution and posts reviews for vendors. In this site, the Oxymonster’s role was moderating the transactions.
The Plea Deal
On his arrest, Vallerius was charged with conspiracy charges of distributing drugs and money laundering.
On these two charges, the sentencing guidelines hold that Vallerius should face up to 40 years in prison. Vallerius nonetheless pleaded guilty before the US district judge Robert Scola. Following his aid in the investigations and his plea, the federal prosecutor, Tony Gonzalez, the assistant Federal public defender Anthony Natale and Scola agreed to the joint sentencing recommendation of 20 years.
Gonzalez concluded that while he has been truthful and aided in the investigation, Vallerius could not get a reduction in his sentencing as he did not lead to the arrest of other individuals.
Vallerius’ plea deal agreement involved the forfeiture of the cryptocurrencies in his possession to the government. He had both bitcoin (BTC) and bitcoin cash (BCH). The bitcoin in his possession amounted to $99,9895 while his bitcoin cash totaled to $121,9481. His total forfeiture was $712,309.94.
