NEW YORK, N.Y. (PIX11) \u2014 Two men have been indicted for allegedly selling drugs on the dark web in exchange for cryptocurrency, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. said.<\/p>\n
According to court documents, between January 2023 and March 2026, Michael Chase, 46, of Brooklyn, and Jose Colon, 50, of Orlando, Florida, allegedly sold cocaine and other controlled substances on the dark web under the alias \u201cClockwerk.\u201d Clockwerk operated on dark web marketplaces and advertised itself as a \u201cdomestic retailer\/semi bulk\u201d operation. Buyers could order over 100 grams of cocaine or 1,000 pills of MDMA.<\/p>\n
Get ongoing crime and safety coverage on our homepage <\/a><\/p>\n Chase allegedly managed Clockwerk\u2019s dark web vendor page and accepted payment in Monero, an \u201canonymity enhanced\u201d cryptocurrency designed to prevent transactions from being tracked or monitored, court documents showed. Chase would end up doing business with customers in all 50 states and Washington D.C., shipping out over 2,600 packages with the help of his associate Jose Colon.<\/p>\n According to court documents, between January 2, 2023, and May 25, 2025, Chase and Colon allegedly sent hundreds of messages to each other using the encrypted messaging app, Signal, discussing shipments, inventory, profits, customers, and packaging.<\/p>\n More Crime News <\/a><\/p>\n Chase and Colon allegedly laundered their drug proceeds using peer-to-peer cryptocurrency traders, Cash App accounts, and shell bank accounts in the name of fictitious businesses, court documents showed.<\/p>\n According to court documents, Chase allegedly received approximately $156,000 into his Cash App accounts, then moved the money through two fictitious business accounts: Designer Auto Sport NY Inc. and Good Apple Fitness LLC. Meanwhile, Colon allegedly received $191,000 and had the funds directly sent to his personal bank accounts.<\/p>\n More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State <\/a><\/p>\n Chase and Colon now face charges of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance, Money Laundering, and Conspiracy, among other charges.<\/p>\n \u201cMichael Chase and Jose Colon allegedly used the dark web to sell dangerous drugs in exchange for cryptocurrency, before moving the funds into fictitious business accounts. They allegedly shipped drugs to all fifty states, jeopardizing the health and safety of individuals across the country,\u201d said\u00a0District Attorney Bragg. \u201cI want to thank our partners at USPIS and the Suffolk County D.A.\u2019s Office for their partnership in this investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visiting\u00a0crimestoppers.nypdonline.org<\/a>, downloading the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app, or texting 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. Spanish-speaking callers are asked to dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).<\/p>\n Christopher Gress is a meteorologist and digital content producer at PIX11. He joined the station in 2020 as a weather producer. Chris is a New Jersey native and grew up in Bayonne. You can find more of his work here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n