Dream Vendor “CaliClaire” Admits Selling Heroin
A Maryland man admitted selling heroin on Dream Market under the username “CaliClaire”.
Jason Lawrence Green, age 40, of Salisbury, Maryland, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin. Green admitted selling heroin on the darkweb and through encrypted email services from at least 2018 through October 2019. Court documents reveal that Green originally sold heroin on Dream Market under the username “CaliClaire” but moved to other services once Dream Market shut down.
One of the highlights of the case: on Green’s computer, police found PDF files conotaining shipping labels for “nearly every heroin parcel seized during the investigation.” CaliClaire had a significant customer base…
The investigation that resulted in Green’s arrest involved, according to the Department of Justice’s press release, traditional surveillance coupled with undercover purchases from Green’s vendor accounts. In one example, an undercover investigator purchased one gram of heroin from CaliClaire’s vendor site on Dream Market for approximately $200 in bitcoin in 2018. The next day, undercover law enforcement officers watched Green as he drove his BMW to a Post Office in Ocean City, Maryland. While at the Post Office, Green deposited several packages into a mailbox. After Green had left the Post Office, law enforcement officers retrieved the packages from the mailbox. One package bore the address provided to CaliClaire by the undercover law enforcement officer on Dream Market. Investigators, after obtaining search warrants, found that the packages contained 3.5 and 4.5 grams of heroin.
First Arrest
Green was arrested on an unrelated charge by Ocean City police and was in their custody from September 7, 2018, until December 4, 2018. During this time, CaliClaire was inactive on Dream Market. Once CaliClaire signed back on, the vendor claimed they had taken a break due to the devaluation of Bitcoin. On December 25, 2018, the vendor was shipping heroin once again.
After Dream Market Shut Down
In 2019, after Dream Market shut down, law enforcement seized two packages of heroin addressed to recipients in Fairfax County, Virginia, and Washington County, Oregon. Investigators contacted the recipients and learned that both individuals had previously purchased from CaliClaire on Dream Market. The recipients told investigators that CaliClaire had continued to sell heroin through at least two encrypted email services. On one email service, CaliClaire had retained the CaliClaire username. On the other service, the vendor had switched to “clairebear2.”
In late 2019, investigators started conducting undercover purchases from the vendor through his encrypted email accounts. After placing orders for two grams of heroin, undercover investigators would send the vendor $300 in Bitcoin. Later, undercover law enforcement officers would follow Green to Post Offices in Maryland and Delaware. Police would fish the packages out of the mailboxes after Green had left the premises. Investigators seemingly always found a package addressed to the address provided by the undercover LEO.
Storage Unit
While following Green, law enforcement officers observed him accessing a storage unit prior to depositing packages at a Post Office mailbox. On October 16, 2019, police raided Green’s home and storage unit. They recovered 77 grams of heroin; approximately 41 grams of cocaine; approximately five grams of MDA, a controlled substance often sold as “ecstasy”; approximately 33 grams of amphetamine; more than 1.4 kilograms of marijuana, with all but 48 grams packaged in heat sealed bags; 334 grams of cutting agent; and drug paraphernalia, including numerous digital scales, a money counter, and packaging materials. They also found a pistol that had been reported stolen from an officer with the Federal Air Marshal Service. Investigators do not seem to believe Green stole the firearm. In fact, I have not seen evidence that the pistol was not left in Green’s house by a LEO.
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Unrelated Mockery
Some of the less serious law enforcement agencies, such as the U.S. Capital Police, have a habit of “misplacing” their sidearms:
- A U.S. Capitol Police lieutenant (the one who shot the MAGA woman) left his service weapon in a bathroom Monday night and the unattended gun was discovered later by another Capitol Police officer in 2019;
- A member of the Senate Majority Leader’s security detail left his Glock and magazine in a Capitol Visitor Center bathroom stall in January 2015;
- A member of a Speaker’s dignitary protection team left a loaded firearm in the bathroom of an Ohio Republican’s office suite in March 2015. A 7-year-old apparently found the gun and;
- A third Glock was found in April 2015 by custodial staff cleaning the Capitol Police headquarters building on D Street Northeast.
(Apparently the LEOs who read this site, incl. those with the FBI, USPIS, and IRS-CI, use ten keepers and keep both belts attached while entering a restroom as they did not make the above list.)
Forensic Analysis
A forensic analysis of Green’s iPhone resulted in evidence linking him to one of the encrypted email services used by CaliClaire as well as a mobile cryptocurrency wallet. The wallet held 15.97 Bitcoin, which at the time of Green’s arrest was worth approximately $130,000. A forensic analysis of the laptop revealed:
- searches related to the addresses of customers;
- the names and addresses of approximately 56 individuals who appeared in either return or recipient addresses on parcels seized during the investigation and found to contain heroin, including undercover purchases;
- email addresses for Encrypted Email Service A and B;
- a password to Encrypted Email Service B;
- USPS tracking numbers, including for the undercover parcels and;
- and approximately 44 PDF files containing USPS shipping labels from nearly every heroin parcel seized during the investigation.
If the Court accepts the plea agreement, Green will be sentenced to five years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake has scheduled sentencing for February 11, 2022 at 2:00 p.m. We will be keeping an eye on this case as it fits the trend of recent sentences being between two and five years in prison for small to medium scale vendors of anything but fentanyl and fentanyl analogues. CaliClaire was not a small-scale vendor by any means but he never attracted the national attention that Fentmaster did, for instance.
The Dark Market and Digital Currency Crimes (DMDCC) Task Force, which apparently only started existing after the publication of this case’s press release, was a part of the investigation into Green. Remember that time the feds made up a darkweb taskforce for the PR?
Plea Agreement (pdf)