A Rochester man is under arrest in connection with an alleged international criminal case involving the dark web.
Brandon Hall, who is already in jail on a murder charge, is now facing charges for his alleged involvement in the exchange of stolen usernames and passwords on the what’s known as the Genesis Market that had operated on the dark web, which is generally understood as the use of special software that prevents a user from being tracked.
Making an initial appearance in federal court on Wednesday, Hall is charged by criminal complaint with possessing 15 or more unauthorized access devices.
The bust is part of the now-foiled international criminal online marketplace, Genesis Market, that advertised and sold packages of account access credentials such as usernames and passwords for email, bank accounts and social media that had been stolen from malware infected computers around the world.
Federal authorities busted up the criminal operation last year.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Western District of New York says between November 2019 and February 2021, Hall purchased 12 packages on Genesis Market that included approximately 1,100 stolen account credentials.
The alleged stolen credentials included accounts for Citi Bank, AT&T, Venmo, X (formerly known as Twitter), Netflix, LinkedIn, Spotify, Hulu, Google, PayPal, Microsoft, Yahoo, Walmart, Target and Amazon accounts.
Then, in August 2023, Rochester Police allege Hall killed Alec Rouse, who was shot to death on North Plymouth Ave. Just last month, Hall was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.
While he remains in custody for now on the murder charge, there is no attorney objection to a release on the federal charge.
When the authorities took down the Genesis Market, it disrupted the dark web and the major cybercriminal marketplace — but it’s forcing criminals to rethink their strategies and find alternative platforms to conduct their illicit activities.
For Hall, the federal charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
As for the murder charge, a trial is scheduled to take place in July.