A doj ceo phantom court has charge Ramos with facilitating the importation and distribution of narcotics and assets have been seize by authorities. Ramos was one of the executives of Phantom Secure, which manufactures a product used by banks and governments worldwide to protect private information.
20,000 Phantom Secure Devices in Use Worldwide
There are now at least 20,000 Phantom Secure devices in use worldwide. The device was advertise as being “immune” to wiretapping and third-party records doj ceo phantom. It has been found that many of these phones have been in the hands of organize crime groups in Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico and Canada.
Voice Communications
These modified BlackBerry handsets have been sold on a subscription basis to criminals. They cost about two to three thousand dollars for a six-month period. In addition, these phones come with a kill switch that disables internet browsing, voice communications, GPS navigation, and even camera functions.
Canadian and Australian Law Enforcement
The FBI worked with Canadian and Australian law enforcement officials to investigate Phantom Secure. A joint investigation led to the seizure of property and Phantom devices.
The former CEO of a Canadian encryption firm, Phantom Secure, pleads guilty in U.S. court for his role in facilitating the transnational importation and distribution of narcotics. He has also agreed to forfeit nearly $80 million in assets, including cryptocurrencies, bank accounts, and real estate.
CEO of Phantom Secure Communications
Vincent Ramos was the CEO of Phantom Secure Communications, a company that sold encrypted cellphones to narcotics traffickers. According to court documents, law enforcement agents were concerned about the use of the cellphones and encrypting technology. They seized hundreds of electronic devices, including phones and cameras, when they investigated the company in 2015. However, they had to obtain a license because it was an electronic device.
Phantom Secure allegedly had an office in Richmond, B.C. and maintained servers in Hong Kong and Panama. Its website targeted high-level businesspeople and criminal enterprises. These organizations were involve in narcotics trafficking, with some of the phones being use to distribute cocaine and other drugs.
Alleged Associates of Ramos
Ramos Rangel is a reputed Mexican drug lord. He has been in the business for decades, according to rumors. Currently he is serving a five-year jail sentence. His sentence was likely to be long since he was convict of a criminal enterprise facilitating drug trafficking.
In February 2017, Ramos and an alleged drug trafficker met in Vegas. They planned to attend a fight with Cyborg and Kunitskaya. However, they made a mistake. One of the agents had fallen asleep and slipped out of the hotel room. Fortunately, another associate caught him and drove him to the border.
The FBI looked into Phantom Secure, a company that he started and ran. Its founder, Vince Ramos, wanted it to be an Uber for luxury phones.
Phantom Secure was a hit, but it did not have the same luck in the United States. It was not only found to be a shady enterprise, but the company was also found to be link to the RICO crime.
Assets Seized by Authorities in Singapore
The Department of Justice announced on March 25 that it had seized $176 million in assets from two companies and individuals in Singapore and Singapore’s Attorney General said they were investigating the allegations. Investigators said the funds were seized as a result of preliminary findings relating to the fraud at Malaysian state-owned 1MDB.
Final Words:
These seizures were part of a global investigation into the 1MDB scandal. A number of individuals involved in the money laundering scheme allegedly owned real estate and bank accounts worldwide. Some of the suspect assets were identify as being tie to the Phantom Secure devices, which were also seize. In addition, several cryptocurrency accounts were discover.
Several people have been charge with providing information to Phantom Secure, including Cameron Ortis, a former director of the Royal Canadian Mount Police’s National Intelligence Coordination Center. He pleaded not guilty on Tuesday and is still awaiting a court hearing. Another defendant, Bankman-Fried, was indict on federal racketeering charges.
