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> FBI indictment that accused Ramos of racketeering activity involving gambling, money laundering, and drug trafficking. Is this all from selling encryption de

by jl2718 6y ago

> FBI indictment that accused Ramos of racketeering activity involving gambling, money laundering, and drug trafficking. Is this all from selling encryption devices, or was he doing crime on the side?

akiselev 6y ago
From another article [1]: > The DOJ further noted in the memorandum that "to date, neither Australian, Canadian, nor American law enforcement has identified a single non-criminal user of Phantom Secure devices." In February 2018, after doing a deal in Mexico, Ramos boasted in a text, later submitted to U.S. Federal Court: "We are f--king rich man. I swear to God you better f--king appreciate it. Get the f--king Range Rover brand new. Cuz I just closed a lot of business. This week man. Sinaloa Cartel that's what's up." ... Ramos later pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering and is serving a nine-year sentence in a U.S. federal prison. As part of his plea, he agreed to forfeit proceeds of crime totalling $80 million US. It sounds like he knew that he was selling these phones to criminals for the purpose of committing more crime. If he had some plausible deniability he might have been able to avoid charges, but in this case he's basically a co-conspirator. The sale of phones for illegal activities is the racket [1] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/cameron-ortis-investigation-rcmp-1.5827502 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/cameron-ortis-investigation-r...
michaelt 6y ago
You might be interested in this article [1] about the prosecution of an auto installer who specialised in fitting special compartments in cars. Here's a summary: The guy thought, much like a shop can sell bongs but only to customers who don't mention weed, he could install hidden compartments so long as his customers didn't mention drugs. He gets some pretty big hints - like the customers' willingness to pay $5000 per compartment in cash, and unjamming a compartment containing $800,000 in cash. Then the cops get wind of his business, tap on his phone and pressure him to help them spy on his customers; he refuses, fearing for his family's safety. Then the cops catch a gang with one of his compartments full of drugs, and in exchange for a reduced sentence, one of them testifies they'd told the installer to make them a compartment for ten kilo bricks of cocaine. Boom, convicted of conspiracy to traffic drugs. 24 years without parole. [1] https://www.wired.com/2013/03/alfred-anaya/ https://www.wired.com/2013/03/alfred-anaya/
- vkou 6y ago
  > Then the cops get wind of his business, tap on his phone and pressure him to help them spy on his customers; he refuses, fearing for his family's safety. That's the problem when working with organized crime. You take a dollar from them, and you and yours are theirs, for life. And if the cops catch wind of this, they aren't going to do a thing to protect you if you flip.
  - jl2718 6y ago
    How do you even know how to avoid that that first dollar? I can imagine a lot of slippery slopes that start without any significant greed or malice. But moralizing his intent misses the point. Laws and law enforcement is a tax-funded service we pay to protect us from other people that would do us harm. If people understood and believed in that, they would never help someone trying to evade the law. Without that trust, it’s so easy for violent criminals to find unwitting aid from those that are trying to protect themselves (security), or want to be left alone (privacy). Side note: There are extremely strong laws against refusing business to a customer. You can’t have it both ways.
    - vkou 6y ago
      > How do you even know how to avoid that that first dollar? It's pretty easy. When you pop a compartment open and $800,000 in cash falls out, you tell the customer that you aren't doing any business with them. Most crooks will take the rejection, because they'd rather do business with someone more enthusiastic. The big problem is when you get in trouble with the law, because then the law has leverage on you, which makes you a serious liability to your customers.

by jl2718 6y ago

akiselev 6y ago

From another article [1]: > The DOJ further noted in the memorandum that "to date, neither Australian, Canadian, nor American law enforcement has identified a single non-criminal user of Phantom Secure devices." In February 2018, after doing a deal in Mexico, Ramos boasted in a text, later submitted to U.S. Federal Court: "We are f--king rich man. I swear to God you better f--king appreciate it. Get the f--king Range Rover brand new. Cuz I just closed a lot of business. This week man. Sinaloa Cartel that's what's up." ... Ramos later pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering and is serving a nine-year sentence in a U.S. federal prison. As part of his plea, he agreed to forfeit proceeds of crime totalling $80 million US. It sounds like he knew that he was selling these phones to criminals for the purpose of committing more crime. If he had some plausible deniability he might have been able to avoid charges, but in this case he's basically a co-conspirator. The sale of phones for illegal activities is the racket [1] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/cameron-ortis-investigation-rcmp-1.5827502 https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/cameron-ortis-investigation-r...

michaelt 6y ago

You might be interested in this article [1] about the prosecution of an auto installer who specialised in fitting special compartments in cars. Here's a summary: The guy thought, much like a shop can sell bongs but only to customers who don't mention weed, he could install hidden compartments so long as his customers didn't mention drugs. He gets some pretty big hints - like the customers' willingness to pay $5000 per compartment in cash, and unjamming a compartment containing $800,000 in cash. Then the cops get wind of his business, tap on his phone and pressure him to help them spy on his customers; he refuses, fearing for his family's safety. Then the cops catch a gang with one of his compartments full of drugs, and in exchange for a reduced sentence, one of them testifies they'd told the installer to make them a compartment for ten kilo bricks of cocaine. Boom, convicted of conspiracy to traffic drugs. 24 years without parole. [1] https://www.wired.com/2013/03/alfred-anaya/ https://www.wired.com/2013/03/alfred-anaya/

vkou 6y ago
> Then the cops get wind of his business, tap on his phone and pressure him to help them spy on his customers; he refuses, fearing for his family's safety. That's the problem when working with organized crime. You take a dollar from them, and you and yours are theirs, for life. And if the cops catch wind of this, they aren't going to do a thing to protect you if you flip.
- jl2718 6y ago
  How do you even know how to avoid that that first dollar? I can imagine a lot of slippery slopes that start without any significant greed or malice. But moralizing his intent misses the point. Laws and law enforcement is a tax-funded service we pay to protect us from other people that would do us harm. If people understood and believed in that, they would never help someone trying to evade the law. Without that trust, it’s so easy for violent criminals to find unwitting aid from those that are trying to protect themselves (security), or want to be left alone (privacy). Side note: There are extremely strong laws against refusing business to a customer. You can’t have it both ways.
  - vkou 6y ago
    > How do you even know how to avoid that that first dollar? It's pretty easy. When you pop a compartment open and $800,000 in cash falls out, you tell the customer that you aren't doing any business with them. Most crooks will take the rejection, because they'd rather do business with someone more enthusiastic. The big problem is when you get in trouble with the law, because then the law has leverage on you, which makes you a serious liability to your customers.