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The Incognito Market founder has been sentenced to 30 years in prison, with five years of supervised release, for illicit activities involving cryptocurrency. TheThe Incognito Market founder has been sentenced to 30 years in prison, with five years of supervised release, for illicit activities involving cryptocurrency. The

Incognito Market Founder Bags 30-Year Jail Term for Crypto Darknet Operation

Author: CoinspeakerSource: Coinspeaker
2026/02/04 20:21
2 min read

Incognito Market founder Rui-Siang Lin was recently sentenced to 30 years in prison by a United States judge. This judgment was issued as a consequence of operating a digital asset dark web marketplace that facilitated more than $105 million in illicit narcotics sales. This covered more than a ton of these drugs within four years.

$105 Million Drug Sales Through Crypto Platform

The US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York released a statement on Feb. 3, indicting 24-year-old Rui-Siang Lin. The Incognito Market founder allegedly depended on crypto payments and an internal system dubbed “Incognito Bank” to allow buyers and vendors to trade crypto anonymously.

Beyond crypto, this platform was used to propagate several illicit activities, including the sales of narcotics. Just between its launch in October 2020 and its shutdown in March 2024, Incognito Bank had sold around $105 million worth of narcotics, according to the prosecutor’s statement.

In December 2024, “Pharaoh” or Lin pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute narcotics. He didn’t deny involvement in money laundering and conspiracy to sell adulterated medication. According to a statement from the US District Judge Colleen McMahon, the operation made Lin a “drug kingpin.”

McMahon believes that the case is the most serious drug crime she has dealt with in all her 27.5 years on the bench. The US District Judge has mandated that Lin forfeits $105,045,109 as part of his penalty. Upon completion of his jail term, he will have another five years of supervised release.

Authorities Continue Crackdown on Crypto-related Crimes

The progress of this case reflects the efforts of law enforcement agencies to crack down on illegal activities, especially those tied to crypto. In November 2025, US federal prosecutors charged the founder of a Chicago cryptocurrency company with money laundering conspiracy.

36-year-old Firas Isa of Frankfort, Illinois, and his company, Virtual Assets LLC, were penalized for wire fraud and drug trafficking. He had made at least $10 million from indulging in these illegal activities between August 2018 and May 2025.

In July 2025, federal authorities seized more than $10 million in cryptocurrency connected to the Sinaloa cartel. This operation was carried out in Miami through a joint effort between the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

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The post Incognito Market Founder Bags 30-Year Jail Term for Crypto Darknet Operation appeared first on Coinspeaker.

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