Ross Ulbricht

Ross Ulbricht
Born
Ross William Ulbricht

(1984-03-27) March 27, 1984 (age 40)[3]
Austin, Texas, U.S.
Other namesSilk Road Admin, SR Admin, Dread Pirate Roberts, DPR, Frosty, Altoid
Alma materUniversity of Texas at Dallas (BS)
Pennsylvania State University (MS)
OccupationDarknet market operator
Years activeFebruary 2011 – October 2013
Known forCreator of Silk Road
Conviction(s)
Criminal penaltyLife imprisonment without the possibility of parole plus $183,961,921 fine (May 29, 2015)
Date apprehended
October 1, 2013
Imprisoned atUnited States Penitentiary, Tucson[2]
Websitefreeross.org

Ross William Ulbricht (born March 27, 1984) is an American serving life imprisonment for creating and operating the darknet market website Silk Road from 2011 until his arrest in 2013.[4] The site operated as a hidden service on the Tor network and facilitated the sale of narcotics and other illegal products and services.[5][6] Ulbricht ran the site under the pseudonym "Dread Pirate Roberts", after the fictional character from The Princess Bride.

In October 2013, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested Ulbricht and took Silk Road offline. In 2015, he was convicted of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, distributing narcotics, distributing narcotics by means of the internet, conspiracy to distribute narcotics, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to traffic fraudulent identity documents, and conspiracy to commit computer hacking.[7][8] He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Ulbricht's appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 2017 and the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018 were unsuccessful.[9][10][11] He is incarcerated at the United States Penitentiary in Tucson.[12]

  1. ^ "Ross Ulbricht, A/K/A "Dread Pirate Roberts," Sentenced In Manhattan Federal Court To Life In Prison". May 29, 2015. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  2. ^ "Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator". Federal Bureau of Prisons. United States Department of Justice. Archived from the original on April 6, 2012. Retrieved January 14, 2018. BOP Register Number: 18870-111
  3. ^ Ulbricht, Ross [@RealRossU] (March 28, 2022). "I turned 38 yesterday" (Tweet). Retrieved August 28, 2023 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ Raymond, Nate (February 4, 2015). "Accused Silk Road operator convicted on U.S. drug charges". Reuters. Archived from the original on December 27, 2015. Retrieved June 22, 2015.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference ars sunk was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference USA Today shutdown info was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Jury Verdict". Docket Alarm. Archived from the original on October 1, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  8. ^ "Ross Ulbricht, The Creator And Owner Of The "Silk Road" Website, Found Guilty In Manhattan Federal Court On All Counts". www.justice.gov. May 13, 2015. Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  9. ^ "Silk Road founder loses his appeal, will serve a life sentence for online crimes". Techcrunch.com. May 31, 2017. Archived from the original on May 31, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  10. ^ "Certiorari Denied" (PDF). Supreme Court of the United States. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 29, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2018.
  11. ^ "Judgment in a Criminal Case (Sentencing)". Docket Alarm. Archived from the original on October 1, 2016. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  12. ^ "Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator". Federal Bureau of Prisons. United States Department of Justice. Archived from the original on April 6, 2012. Retrieved January 14, 2018. Register Number: 18870-111