FBI Posed as “Elon Musk” to Launder Money for Hackers and Drug Dealers for Nearly a Year

In 2023, the FBI uncovered a major criminal operating on the dark web under the alias ElonmuskWHM, who was laundering millions of dollars for other criminals. After identifying and arresting ElonmuskWHM, the FBI continued his business for nearly a year, laundering money themselves while gathering information on his clients.

This is not the first time U.S. law enforcement has used such tactics, essentially providing criminals with the infrastructure or services they need while monitoring and collecting data. For example, several years ago, the FBI created and operated the encrypted communications platform Anom (also known as An0m or Anøm), similar to Encrochat and Phantom Secure. Anom became hugely popular among criminals worldwide, allowing law enforcement to monitor their communications for years. Over time, more than 12,000 “secure” devices were distributed to criminals in over 100 countries.

Last year, it was also revealed that the FBI created its own cryptocurrency to investigate price manipulation in crypto markets.

The Rise of ElonmuskWHM

According to 404 Media, the FBI ran a large-scale operation in which agents posed as ElonmuskWHM for 11 months, cashing out money for drug dealers, hackers, and other criminals.

Posts on the dark web forum Dread show that ElonmuskWHM started his business around October 2020, advertising “cash by mail with escrow and 100% anonymity.” The scheme was simple: clients sent cryptocurrency to ElonmuskWHM via a dark web marketplace (with a commission), and he mailed them cash, keeping a 20% fee.

Initially, Dread users accused ElonmuskWHM of being a cop or a scammer, but some eventually tried his service and successfully received cash. Within a month, he claimed to have processed over $30,000. By January 2021, he had completed over 200 deals, then 450, and began calling himself the largest cash supplier on the White House Market (WHM) dark web marketplace.

ElonmuskWHM soon claimed to have “moved millions, operating on several continents,” offering cash delivery anywhere in Europe and promising to move $100,000 overnight in the U.S. Such services are always in demand in the U.S., as companies that exchange crypto for fiat must be registered and collect identifying information, like banks. You can’t just cash out on Binance or Coinbase—these exchanges will hand over information to authorities if subpoenaed.

The FBI Takes Notice

According to court documents, an FBI agent first noticed ElonmuskWHM’s ads on dark web sites in April 2021. By August, the FBI brought in the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) for a joint investigation. Inspector Joshua Smith opened a P.O. box in Kentucky, and authorities began ordering cash from ElonmuskWHM, posing as drug dealers.

All packages and communications were carefully studied to identify the criminal. Orders were relatively small—$1,800, $2,000 in cash. Sometimes, money arrived hidden inside hollowed-out books. The FBI spent months ordering cash and studying the scheme, but the dark web landscape began to shift. In fall 2021, White House Market shut down, and in February 2022, the Dark0de Reborn hacker forum closed, both places where ElonmuskWHM was active. Authorities then switched to communicating with him via Telegram and the encrypted messenger Wickr.

In chats, ElonmuskWHM said most of his clients made money selling drugs, but the wealthiest were hackers, some involved in major crypto thefts and hacks. He boasted of earning about $30 million in a few years and said he could cash out up to $1 million a week. Blockchain analysis showed about $90 million in crypto passed through his network.

Over time, ElonmuskWHM shared personal details with undercover agents. In one chat, he discussed GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and said he had experience in the field, including with drones, and had previously run a GIS company. He sent the agent a YouTube video about AR navigation in malls and airports. The agent replied with other drone mapping videos. Authorities then secretly asked Google for all IP addresses that accessed those videos within a week, and, if linked to a Google account, to provide user names, addresses, payment info, and message logs. This move was criticized as unconstitutional, as thousands of ordinary viewers became suspects just for watching a video. It’s unclear if Google complied.

Unmasking “Elon Musk”

By then, the FBI had begun to trace the cash shipments. Some packages came from Tarrytown and Elmsford, New York, showing a pattern. The FBI tracked the packages to a young man in Westchester County, New York, who became an anonymous informant known as “Eric.” He was arrested at home, where agents found about $600,000 in cash, revealing the scale of the operation.

Eric explained that he met people about three times a week, each time receiving $100,000–$300,000 in cash to send out. Most of the money in New York came from people with legitimate businesses, like small shops, wanting to send money back to India. This underground banking system is known as “hawala” in Arabic, “fei-chien” in Chinese, and “hundi” or “angadia” in India. Many hawala clients are not criminals but violate U.S. money transfer laws.

ElonmuskWHM’s business overlapped with this system, attracting criminal money. Essentially, he added cryptocurrency to a centuries-old process, exchanging crypto for cash instead of just moving cash.

Authorities decided not to prosecute Eric immediately but used him as an informant. He agreed to cooperate, continued handling cash, and helped the FBI understand the laundering process and identify other group members. According to court documents, Eric conducted about 80 more cash operations, recording everything with a hidden camera, and moved over $15 million from February to September.

He met with men of Indian descent who brought bags of cash at convenience stores, gas stations, and parking lots. Using cellphone data, the FBI found some of these people traveled to New Jersey, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and South Carolina—ElonmuskWHM’s couriers operated nationwide.

Through subpoenas, court orders, and data from Apple, Binance, Uber, and U.S. visa applications, investigators identified ElonmuskWHM as Anurag Pramod Murarka, a 30-year-old Indian national. Murarka had previously applied for U.S. visas, which were denied, but authorities approved one to arrest him upon arrival. His lawyer later claimed he came to the U.S. for rare disease treatment. In early 2025, Murarka was sentenced to 121 months (10 years) in prison.

Prosecutor Kathryn Dieruf stated, “[Murarka] was the founder and leader of a large-scale conspiracy spanning the United States, based in India, and created as a bank for the criminal underworld operating on the dark web. He ran one of the largest and most successful crypto-to-cash operations on the dark web, laundering over $24 million in crypto in less than two years.”

The FBI Launders Money

Murarka was arrested on September 30, 2023, and the FBI decided to continue his business themselves. According to Gabrielle Dudgeon, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Kentucky, the FBI controlled all ElonmuskWHM operations for about 11 months, investigating “any criminal who used ElonmuskWHM’s money laundering services, including drug dealers, hackers, and others engaged in criminal activity.”

Court documents show ElonmuskWHM’s services were linked to drug trafficking, armed robbery, and numerous hacking investigations, including those that netted criminals millions. These connections were made both before and after the FBI took over the account.

One client was 20-year-old hacker Remington Goy Ogletree, aka “remi,” a member of the Scattered Spider group, arrested at the end of last year. Two days after the FBI first searched Ogletree’s home on February 23, 2024, he contacted ElonmuskWHM via Telegram, unaware the service was now an FBI sting. He requested $50,000 in cash, then increased it to $75,000, sending undercover agents cryptocurrency and a delivery address. The money was sent to him, and Ogletree was arrested a year later, in November 2024.

Dudgeon declined to comment on Ogletree’s case or provide examples of other prosecutions enabled by the FBI’s undercover operation, citing ongoing investigations.

FBI Special Agent Michael E. Stansbury stated, “The FBI will use every possible advantage in the fight against criminal networks that harm the public, to apprehend these criminals, seize the proceeds of their crimes, and expose their accomplices.”