Despite U.S. President Donald Trump pardoning the founder of the Silk Road, a B.C. man charged in the same case faces an extradition hearing
While U.S. President Donald Trump has pardoned the founder of the dark web’s “Silk Road” drug market, a B.C. man charged in the same case still faces an extradition hearing next month.
Vancouver resident James Ellingson, 49, was indicted in New York in 2018 on drug trafficking and money laundering charges, but U.S. court documents were only unsealed in his case in May 2023.
By then, Ellingson has already appeared in B.C. Supreme Court in an unsuccessful bid to get more disclosure in the case against him.
The U.S. alleges Ellingson used the nickname “redandwhite” — normally associated with the Hells Angels — and sold large quantities of narcotics on the “Silk Road” online marketplace.
Silk Road was founded by Ross Ulbricht, who was serving a life sentence until Trump pardoned him this week and called the New York prosecutors who led the case “scum”.
Ulbricht, who called himself “Dread Pirate Roberts” online, was convicted in 2015. He allegedly discussed a plot to kill five people with Ellingson, although U.S. law enforcement never found any evidence that the purported murders took place.
In 2023, when the indictment against Ellingson was unsealed, U.S. special agent Thomas M. Fattorusso said his “alleged criminal actions are far more egregious than just money laundering or the large quantities of narcotics trafficked through the Silk Road online marketplace. He also claimed to have acted as the middleman between the Silk Road founder and murderers-for-hire.”
Ellingson’s extradition hearing is due to begin Feb. 10 in B.C. Supreme Court, Canadian department of justice spokesperson Kwame Bonsu told Postmedia on Thursday.
The U.S. indictment alleges that between 2011 and 2013, Ellingson sold large quantities of narcotics through the Silk Road online marketplace under the usernames “MarijuanaIsMyMuse” and “Lucydrop.”
The U.S. claims the Vancouver man sold more than four kilograms of methamphetamine, more than 100 grams of heroin, more than two kilograms of cocaine, more than six grams of LSD, about seven kilograms of ecstasy and more than 19 kilograms of marijuana, as well as other narcotics to customers, including some in New York City.
He was paid in Bitcoin, the indictment said.
“In March 2013, Ellingson, using the Silk Road username ‘redandwhite,’ contacted Ulbricht, Silk Road’s founder, regarding a purported Silk Road user who had threatened to release personal identifying information of Silk Road drug vendors and customers. In these messages, Ellingson claimed to have control over most drug trafficking in Western Canada,” the indictment said.
In one message, Ellingson said the murder target “is a liability and I wouldn’t mind if he was executed.” In another message, Ulbricht stated the person “is causing me problems. … I would like to put a bounty on his head if it’s not too much trouble for you. What would be an adequate amount to motivate you to find him?”
Ellingson allegedly replied that the price “for clean is 300k+ USD,” and the price “for non-clean is 150-200k USD depending on how you want it done.”
He also said the prices cover “two professional hitters including their travel expenses and work they put in,” the indictment said.
Ulbricht later sent Ellingson $150,000 worth of Bitcoin to pay for the purported murder, the U.S. attorney’s office said, adding that in April 2013, Ellingson and Ulbricht exchanged messages reflecting that Ellingson had sent Ulbricht photographic proof of the murder.
“A thumbnail of a deleted photograph purporting to depict a male individual lying on a floor in a pool of blood with tape over his mouth was recovered from the Ulbricht laptop by law enforcement,” the indictment also said.
In his B.C. applications for disclosure, Ellingson has claimed someone else used the online identities connected to Silk Road.