A federal grand jury indicted Owe Martin Andresen, 49, the alleged main administrator of Dream Market, on twelve counts of money laundering under 18 U.S.C. § 1956: six international concealment counts and six domestic concealment counts, each carrying a maximum of 20 years.
Andresen allegedly operated as “Speedstepper,” Dream Market’s primary administrator — and the one high-ranking admin who wasn’t identified despite earlier prosecutions. The marketplace launched in November 2013, grew to nearly 100,000 listings after the seizures of Hansa and AlphaBay, and didn’t shut down until 2019. During that run, per DOJ, it facilitated sales of 450 kilograms of cocaine, 90 kilograms of heroin, 45 kilograms of methamphetamine, 25 kilograms of crack cocaine, 13 kilograms of oxycodone, and 36 kilograms of fentanyl.
Prosecutors allege Andresen resurfaced in November 2022, accessing dormant Dream Market cryptocurrency wallets containing millions in commission payments and moving funds into new wallets. The move required the marketplace’s original private keys. By August 2023, he allegedly used an Atlanta-based cryptocurrency service to purchase gold bars from international companies and had them shipped to his home address in Germany.
German authorities searched Andresen’s residence and two other locations on May 7, 2026, recovering approximately $1.7 million in gold bars, more than $23,000 in cash, and roughly $1.2 million across bank and cryptocurrency accounts. The total allegedly laundered: over $2 million.
Two other Dream Market admins had already been convicted in DOJ-led prosecutions: “Oxymonster” and “KITT3N.” A third, “GOWRON,” was convicted by the UK Crown Prosecution Service. The German charges he’s now facing carry up to five years each; the U.S. counts run up to 20 years apiece.
— James Okafor