U.S. man indicted for allegedly selling insider trading tips on the dark web

The U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Apostolos Trovias, a man who claimed to sell insider trading tips on the dark web, with allegedly using anonymous software, a pseudonym (his nickname was reportedly "Bull") and bitcoin to conceal his identity.

According to the indictment, Trovias sold stock information individually on a subscription basis on AlphaBay, a defunct dark web marketplace, and other sites on the dark web. He is said to have claimed to be a "hedge fund insider" who worked as an office clerk at a trading branch.

Not long after authorities seized and shut down AlphaBay in 2017, Trovias allegedly sold undercover IRS agent pre-release earnings reporting information for at least one publicly traded company. He faces one count of money laundering, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and one count of securities fraud, which could result in a 25-year prison sentence if Trovias is convicted.

The indictment was filed in February, but was kept secret until Trovias' arrest. He was arrested in Peru in May and the U.S. government is working to extradite him, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Multiple people are known to have been charged or convicted in connection with AlphaBay activities. in February 2020, the FBI charged Larry Harmon with running a $300 million bitcoin money laundering scheme. in September 2020, Bryan Connor Herrell was sentenced to 11 years in prison. Herrell was one of AlphaBay's administrators responsible for resolving disputes between vendors and customers, and he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to participate in dark web organizations affected by racketeering.