The founder of Incognito Market, Rui-Siang Lin, has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison

BlockBeats News, February 4, Tuesday, a federal judge sentenced the founder of the darknet market Incognito Market, Rui-Siang Lin, to 30 years in prison for operating a cryptocurrency-based darknet market that facilitated over $105 million in illicit drug transactions.

According to the statement from the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, Incognito Market relied on encrypted payments and an internal system called "Incognito Bank" to enable buyers and sellers to anonymously transact digital assets. Prosecutors stated that the platform, operational from October 2020 to its shutdown in March 2024, facilitated the global sale of over a ton of illicit drugs.

U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon also ordered the forfeiture of $105,045,109 from Rui-Siang Lin and mandated a 5-year supervised release following the completion of the prison term.

Rui-Siang Lin, 24 years old and operating under the alias "Pharaoh," admitted in December 2024 to conspiring to distribute illicit goods, money laundering, and conspiring to sell counterfeit drugs.