WASHINGTON (Reuters) – An engineer working at Elon Musk’s SpaceX pleaded guilty Thursday to conspiring to commit securities fraud by selling insider deals on the “dark grid,” the Department of Justice and Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday (SEC) of the USA.
The case was the first in which the SEC initiated enforcement action alleging violations of securities in the dark grid, he said.
James Roland Jones, of Redondo Beach, California, faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, the Justice Department said. No sentence date has been set yet.
According to agencies, from 2016 to at least 2017, Jones conspired with another unnamed person to access various dark web markets, including a website that purported to be a inside information forum, in search of information. material and not public for use. stock trading.
The dark web allows users to access the Internet anonymously and is often used to host websites that support illegal activities. Jones could not be reached for comment.
Jones also devised a scheme to sell what he falsely claimed were privileged advice in the dark network, agencies said. Several bitcoin-paying users bought these tips and eventually negotiated based on the information Jones provided, they said.
Michelle Price Reports; edited by Richard Pullin