A 24-year-old man from Illinois was charged in federal court in Atlanta this week for his alleged role as spokesperson for AlphaBay, a now-defunct dark web marketplace known primarily for its drug trade.

Ronald L. Wheeler III of Streamwood, Illinois was charged Wednesday by federal prosecutors with "conspiracy to commit access device fraud," according to the Associated Press. Wheeler, who prosecutors say was also known online as “Trappy” and “Trappy-Pandora,” is believed to have served as a “public relations specialist” for the AlphaBay.

Wheeler appeared in court Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. Federal Magistrate Judge Janet King agreed to allow Wheeler to remain free while his case is pending, but said he will have to submit to required drug testing.

If convicted, Wheeler will be required to forfeit any proceeds from his alleged illegal activity during his time working for AlphaBay. Court filings say Wheeler was paid $27,562 in U.S. currency and about 14 Bitcoin (approximately $108,000).

Wheeler took on the role of public relations specialist in May 2015 and remained with the site through July 3 of this year. During that more than two year span, Wheeler moderated the AlphaBay community on popular social networking site Reddit, promoted AlphaBay online across other platforms and forums and served as a mediator for disputes between buyers and sellers operating through the dark web marketplace.

For his alleged work, Wheeler was paid a salary in Bitcoin. The payment was provided by Alexandre Cazes, a 25-year-old Canadian citizen who founded and operated AlphaBay for nearly three years.

Cazes, also known online as Alpha02 and Admin, set up AlphaBay in September 2014 following the shutdown of infamous dark web marketplace Silk Road. AlphaBay quickly filled the void left by the Silk Road’s absence and amassed thousands of users in a short period of time.

Operating on a hidden domain known as an “onion service” on the Tor network, AlphaBay was only accessible to those with software that allowed communication with such services, like the Tor browser. Despite its limited accessibility, AlphaBay is said to have had more than 400,000 users at its peak and generated more than $23 million over the span of its existence.

The site was known to sell illicit goods including illegal drugs, firearms and counterfeit goods. It also traded in personal information, often selling stolen usernames and passwords as well as telephone numbers, bank account numbers and other sensitive data.

AlphaBay was shut down on July 5 following police raids in the United States, Canada and Thailand that resulted in the confiscation of the marketplace’s servers and the arrest of its founder Cazes. Shortly after his arrest, Cazes is believed to have died as a result of suicide by hanging while in custody at Thailand's Narcotics Suppression Bureau headquarters.

Members of the Reddit community DarkNetMarkets speculated in August that Wheeler, or “Trappy,” had been identified by the FBI and was “next to be busted.”

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