Who owns silk road

This article is more than 1 year old. Funds have lain dormant since darknet site founder Ross Ulbricht was jailed in The wallet in question contains almost 70, bitcoins. Reuse this content. But no one was seeing the whole picture … yet. Julia Vie : He basically just invited me to San Francisco. I had never been before, so I said, "Why not? I was like, "Oh, well, I guess if he quit the site, then he doesn't have money. Julia Vie : I just was, like, really into Ross that weekend.

Everything was very similar to how we were in college together. Julia Vie : He didn't let me see him on the computer at all. That's when I knew something was up. He specifically was not on the computer except when I would leave to maybe go take a shower. And then I'd pop in the room and he'd close his computer. Julia Vie : You know, the way he told me his computer was set up was that, if he closed it, all the information would be destroyed if anyone ever tried to get it.

Despite her suspicion that Ross was still involved in Silk Road, Julia was interested in rekindling the relationship. She invited Ross to visit her back in Austin. Julia Vie : I was begging him to hurry up and come to me 'cause I just had a very bad feeling. I kept telling him, I said, "push your trip up. Just come to Austin. I got my ticket. They showed him the mirror copy of the Silk Road server. When he saw a reference to San Francisco, things started to click.

On the wall of their office, Alford saw a board covered with leads. Gary Alford : So, I tried not to look at the board because this is their house, this is their office, and this is their investigation. But I couldn't help to see the arrows are pointing to one thing on the board that said San Francisco —.

After leaving that meeting, Alford ran another search on Ross Ulbricht and found the newly filed Homeland Security report about those nine fake IDs.

Gary Alford : And I almost hit the roof. I was like, "this is him. This is him. In any investigation there's a watershed moment — and in the Silk Road case it came when Alford mentioned the word "frosty. Gary Alford : He's like, "Are you sure frosty? And so, everyone kind of took in that, oh, this might be it. Jared Der-Yeghiayan : That was a big — big break for us.

That was that moment where we said, "OK, there's — there's something more to this. Jared Der-Yeghiayan : There was one big thing for me, and it had to do with the writing. Austin Berglas : Investigative wheels start spinning. Jared Der-Yeghiayan : Every single time Dread Pirate Roberts would sign onto the forums or sign onto the marketplace … you'd also see Ross Ulbricht sign onto his Google account or sign off of his Google account.

In the span of just 10 days, the U. But to make their case, they needed to catch him — with his fingers literally on the keyboard. Austin Berglas : So, the plan was to make sure to arrest Ross with the laptop open and unlocked … much harder than it sounds.

Austin Berglas : We didn't want to do a traditional FBI knock on the door, go in and arrest him in his living room, because we knew that we wouldn't have access … to the laptop.

Homeland security agent Jared Der-Yeghiayan was with the team. Logging on undercover as "Cirrus," he was still in contact with Ulbricht's alias, Dread Pirate Roberts. And then physical eyes on Ross Ulbricht had him still at his house in San Francisco. Meanwhile, the surveillance team saw Ross leave his house. And there's Ross Ulbricht actually standing next to me — about feet away, at a street corner, waiting for the light to change. Jared Der-Yeghiayan : I think he's — he's gonna, you know, probably walk right out because there wasn't any open seats when I went in there.

And sure enough, he turns right around and then he goes right next door into the Glen Park Library. Vincent D'Agostino : Ross Ulbricht heads upstairs and is observed entering the science fiction section, where he sits down on- at a table there.

And we're just waiting hopefully for Dread Pirate Roberts to sign online. He does sign on the staff chat. And so that— that's my cue to pretty much start up my chat. Vincent D'Agostino : The agents in the library can see Ross typing.

Once I Ross Ulbricht gets to the post … At that moment, the order to execute the arrest is given. Jared Der-Yeghiayan So, he turns over his shoulder to see this actual fight occur. As he does that, another surveillance agent walks over, picks up the laptop, walks it over to our computer tech, hands it to him.

And another agent walks up behind him — bear hugs him —. Austin Berglas : And then the investigative team then placed Ross under arrest. Vincent D'Agostino : So, the concern at that point is, you know, we have to keep this laptop alive.

Austin Berglas : And don't let it go to sleep, don't let it encrypt, don't let it close. The cyber team made sure the laptop stayed open.

They found a treasure trove of evidence: fake identities, chats, even Ross's personal journal. Most damning, the computer's username was "frosty. Ross Ulbricht was charged with seven counts, including narcotics trafficking, computer hacking, money laundering, and a kingpin statute usually reserved for mafia dons and cartel leaders.

Vincent D'Agostino : When you're looking at a site doing the volume that Silk Road was doing, nothing else would really fit charge-wise other than to charge him as a kingpin. Julia Vie : My good friend called me … she didn't even want to tell me herself. She just said, "Google Ross Ulbricht. Like, I was so upset. Julia Vie : I mean, I was just like, I knew he was doing something shady, but I … had no idea it was as big as it was. The defense admitted while he had created Silk Road, he handed it off to others, who then lured him back in to take the fall.

After a day trial and less than four hours of deliberations, a jury found Ross Ulbricht guilty on all counts. Jared Der-Yeghiayan : There's a lot of attempts to try to throw in alternate perpetrators and other things that would try to make it seem like there was some injustice done. But the evidence was overwhelming. The jury found it overwhelming. At his sentencing, family members of individuals who died while using drugs purchased on Silk Road delivered victim impact statements.

Jared Der-Yeghiayan : So, the mother, you know, gets up and talks about her son Preston … took drugs from Silk Road and fell off a balcony. And — and she talked about the last day she held him.

And so, there was a photo that she provided to the court about — you know, the last day she saw him and the last day she was with him. Jared Der-Yeghiayan : Pretty much, like, the whole courtroom's in tears, you know, hearing this. And it's something that as a parent that, for me, it was— enormously impactful. And so, then it — it came down to the point that Ross had— a chance to then address the court. Vincent D'Agostino : You know, as far as the half-hearted apology that he presented and, you know, the kind of general … never meant it to go this direction- it was sort of expected understanding that this person was clearly thinking about his appeal at that point.

Jared Der-Yeghiayan : The judge took a little bit extended break and comes back and … She's like, "You had all these things going for you, but you're no different than any other criminal on the street. Vincent D'Agostino : Ultimately , he received two life sentences plus 40 years.

Julia Vie : I don't think he deserves to be in jail for the rest of his life, you know? I mean, maybe take the best years of his life … but leave him with the last part of his life.

Vincent D'Agostino : Here is a person that, by all accounts, had every opportunity to do something great. At one point, Ross Ulbricht was a multimillionaire. Silk Road was a lucrative and dangerous venture. Until the FBI cyber team shut it down. Dangerous Journey on the Silk Road. Please enter email address to continue. Please enter valid email address to continue. Chrome Safari Continue.

Be the first to know. Ulbricht's trial began in January in Manhattan, and he was convicted on all seven counts. The trial was a highly publicized and charged event, with the presiding judge reportedly receiving death threats from presumed Silk Road supporters, although that was never proven. Prior to his sentencing, Ulbricht stated via a letter to the judge that his actions were linked to his libertarian ideals and that "Silk Road was supposed to be about giving people the freedom to make their own choices.

Also in , Ulbricht appealed to the Supreme Court , with attorneys arguing that his case involves unresolved constitutional questions regarding the Fourth Amendment and the digital age. On Oct. This motion was also denied. In late , national media reported that former President Donald Trump was considering commuting Mr. Ulbricht's sentence, but ultimately he did not. Since Ulbricht's incarceration, more than , have signed an online petition created by Lyn Ulbricht, Ross' mother, to commute his double life sentence.

His supporters have also created an online fact sheet to provide more details about Ross's case. On May 29, , Ulbricht was sentenced to two life imprisonment terms, plus 40 years, to be served concurrently without the possibility of parole. While darknet sites, and Silk Road in particular, were early adopters of bitcoin, Mr. Ulbricht was in no way involved in developing bitcoin. Ross Ulbricht is infamous for creating and running the Silk Road market, and while he claims that his intentions for starting the site were altruistic, a federal jury found him guilty on seven serious charges, including conspiracy to traffic narcotics, and he was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison.

Ulbricht's many supporters decry his sentence as unjust, and almost half a million people have signed a petition for clemency in his case. United States Attorney's Office. Supreme Court of the United States.

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We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. I Accept Show Purposes. Your Money. Personal Finance. Your Practice. Popular Courses. Investing Cryptocurrency. Key Takeaways Ross Ulbricht, the "Dread Pirate Roberts" of the internet, founded and operated the darknet marketplace Silk Road in until it was shut down by the U.