Nemesis darknet market founder indicted for years-long “borderless powerhouse of criminal activity”
An Iranian National and founder of the dark web marketplace, Nemesis Market, has been indicted by the US Justice Department for operating a years-long “borderless powerhouse of criminal activity.”
Image by Bundeskriminalamt
An Iranian National and founder of the dark web marketplace, Nemesis Market, has been indicted by the US Justice Department (DoJ) for operating a years-long “borderless powerhouse of criminal activity.”
US Justice officials say 36-year-old Behrouz Parsarad, an Iranian National from Tehran, founded and operated the darknet criminal marketplace from March 2001 until it was seized by authorities in March 2024.
During its three-year run, the online criminal haven offered up illegal drugs and criminal cyber-services, such as stolen financial information, fraudulent identification documents, counterfeit currencies, and computer malware, according to court documents.
The Nemesis Market is also reported to have facilitated the sale of nearly $30 million worth of drugs.
At its peak, Nemesis Market hosted “over 150,000 users and more than 1,100 vendor accounts registered worldwide,” authorities said.
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“Nemesis Market, through the darknet, was a borderless powerhouse of criminal activity that not only fueled the drug epidemic, but also a multitude of illegal acts with the capacity to harm our citizens and destroy our communities,” said FBI Cleveland Acting Special Agent in Charge Charles Johnston.
Iranian National Indicted for Operating Online Marketplace Offering Fentanyl and Money Laundering Services
undefined Criminal Division (@DOJCrimDiv) April 18, 2025
Nemesis Market Processed Over 400,000 Orders
🔗: https://t.co/WfW2QsnnuV pic.twitter.com/u0iKL2enrs
The FBI said the dark market processed more than 400,000 orders while in existence – over 70,000 of them categorized as illegal drugs, including stimulants like methamphetamine, cocaine, and crack cocaine.
Other controlled substances included opioids, such as fentanyl, heroin, and oxycodone, according to the FBI, which confirmed their authenticity by purchasing the substances through the marketplace and testing them in government labs.
“The allegations in this indictment span over four hundred thousand transactions involving fentanyl, other dangerous drugs, and a wide range of contraband made accessible on the darknet for more than three years,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
Charges against Parsarad include conspiracy to distribute and distribution of controlled substances, as well as money laundering charges.
DoJ officials say Parsarad used proceeds from the market to promote illegal drug dealing and directly offer money laundering and cryptocurrency mixing services to those trying to “obscure their origins” while paying for goods and services on the site.
If convicted, Parsarad faces a minimum of 10 years in federal prison with a maximum life sentence.
On March 20, 2024, US law enforcement seized Nemesis in cooperation with German and Lithuanian authorities. About 20% of market sellers were said to have originated from Germany.
In addition, last month, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against Parsarad for his role as Nemesis’ administrator.