A police officer from Victoria, Australia has been jailed for fraud, forging and selling his police and maritime IDs on dark web marketplaces.
Following the initial investigation, the Victorian police were stunned to find that their ex-colleague operated outside of the dark web too. He also targeted a 92-year-old man in an effort to defraud him of his share portfolio.
Police Career & History
James Goris was already a familiar name to the Victorian Police, not because of past crimes or violations, but because he was previously within their ranks.
Goris was part of the police force starting from 2005 to 2010. While being in law enforcement, Goris recalled being detracted by his colleagues.
According to Goris, the reason behind the mistreatment stemmed from his open identity as a gay man.
After leaving his job, Goris started self-medicating by using sedatives and cocaine. Over the few following years, Goris regularly switched jobs.
'PirateDeadpool' on AlphaBay Market
Goris chose AlphaBay, a now-defunct darknet market, where he operated under the username "PirateDeadpool."
From this account, Goris offered a variety of false police wallets and badges. However, his forgeries did not stop here.
He also offered aviation and maritime security passes-all of his goods were offered in exchange for Bitcoin.
Soon after the Victorian police found out about Goris' illegal activities, officers conducted a raid on his home.
What the police came to find is that the dark web was not the only place Goris had been operating.
While searching, they discovered a man named Kenneth Holt, 92, whom Goris was trying to fraud and steal his share portfolio worth $3.3 million.
Holt was an elderly man who had saved money all his life. He was also not aware of his shares growing to more than $3.3 million, and Goris was trying to use that in his advantage.
Assuming Holt's identity and knowing everything about his financial status, Goris created a company including documents and bank accounts.
Goris controlled the company, but the documentation was in Holt's name. Then, without Holt's knowledge, Goris transferred all of the funds into the company with a plan to sell them.
Due to his arrest, Goris was prevented from doing so.
Court Case & Prison Sentence
Frank Gucciardo, the County Court Judge, found this to be a "callous and calculated" crime and he did not believe Goris' defense.
Previously revealing to a psychiatrist, Goris said he wanted to be an undercover agent and that all of his current crimes were a part of his plot to trap cybercriminals.
Judge Gucciardo, however, believed these explanations were too far-fetched to be true.
In the 2016 raid, the Victorian police also discovered pornographic photos of young girls from Victoria on the devices Goris used.
On the count of possessing child pornography, obtaining property by deception, supplying identification information and using fake documents, Goris pleaded guilty.
Judge Gucciardo sentenced Goris to four years behind bars last Wednesday. The minimum he must serve is 2.5 years.
