Silk Road Trial Verdict: Ross Ulbricht Convicted of Drug Charges
“Bitcoin coins photo” by Antana is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
Ross Ulbricht, the creator of the black market website Silk Road, was found guilty of drug trafficking, money laundering and computer hacking on Wednesday, February 4 after a four-week trial, reports Reuters.
Before being shut down in October 2013, the Silk Road was a type of free market website that allowed users to communicate anonymously and use the digital currency bitcoins for various exchanges, including black market sales and purchases.
Ulbricht was convicted on seven counts in conjunction with the website’s nearly $200 million anonymous online drug sales.
Ulbricht will be sentenced on May 15, and could face up to life in prison and a mandatory minimum term of 20 years. His lawyer, Joshua Dratel, said he would appeal, according to Reuters.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said Ulbricht’s conviction should send a message that “the supposed anonymity of the dark web is not a protective shield from arrest and prosecution,” as quoted by Reuters.
Read the full story here.
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