US indicts Nemesis Market founder over criminal activity

Cybernews reports that dark web marketplace Nemesis Market had its founder Behrouz Parsarad indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice over operating the online market, which has peddled malware, stolen financial details, and other cybercrime services, as well as illegal drugs, for three years before its disruption in March 2024.

More than 400,000 orders, nearly a fifth of which were for abused substances, have been processed by Nemesis Market during its operation, according to Justice Department officials, which also accused Parsarad of providing money laundering and cryptocurrency mixing services through the marketplace. Parsarad who was also sanctioned by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control last month could be imprisoned for at least a decade if convicted. "Nemesis Market, through the darknet, was a borderless powerhouse of criminal activity that not only fueled the drug epidemic, but also a multitude of illegal acts with the capacity to harm our citizens and destroy our communities," noted FBI Cleveland Acting Special Agent in Charge Charles Johnston.