Ross Ulbricht

{{Short description|American founder of the Silk Road (born 1984)}}

{{Personbox

| name = Ross Ulbricht

| image = Ross Ulbricht by Gage Skidmore.jpg

| alt =

| caption = Ulbricht in 2025

| other_names = Dread Pirate Roberts, Frosty, Altoid

| birth_name = Ross William Ulbricht

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1984|03|27}}

| birth_place = Austin, Texas, U.S.

| alma_mater = {{unbulleted list

|University of Texas at Dallas (BS)

|Pennsylvania State University (MS)

}}

| occupation = Darknet market operator

| known_for = Founder of Silk Road

| criminal penalty = Double life imprisonment plus 40 years, without the possibility of parole.

| criminal_status = Pardoned by Donald Trump on January 21, 2025

| website =

}}

Ross William Ulbricht ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ʊ|l|b|r|ɪ|k|t}}; born March 27, 1984){{Cite tweet |user=RealRossU |last=Ulbricht |first=Ross |title=I turned 38 yesterday |date=March 28, 2022 |number=1508504339714875392 |access-date=2023-08-28 |language=en}} is an American who created and operated the illegal darknet market Silk Road from 2011 until his arrest in 2013. Silk Road was an online marketplace that facilitated the trade in narcotics and other illegal products and services. Sales were anonymous, using bitcoin. It operated as a hidden service on the Tor network. 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 by means of the internet, conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to traffic fraudulent identity documents, and conspiracy to commit computer hacking.{{cite web|title=Jury Verdict|url=https://www.docketalarm.com/cases/New_York_Southern_District_Court/1--14-cr-00068/USA_v._Ulbricht/183/|publisher=Docket Alarm|access-date=September 27, 2016|archive-date=October 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161001184453/https://www.docketalarm.com/cases/New_York_Southern_District_Court/1--14-cr-00068/USA_v._Ulbricht/183/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web |date=2015-05-13 |title=Ross Ulbricht, The Creator And Owner Of The "Silk Road" Website, Found Guilty In Manhattan Federal Court On All Counts |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/ross-ulbricht-creator-and-owner-silk-road-website-found-guilty-manhattan-federal-court |access-date=2022-12-07 |website=www.justice.gov |language=en |archive-date=December 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207111514/https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/ross-ulbricht-creator-and-owner-silk-road-website-found-guilty-manhattan-federal-court |url-status=live }} He was sentenced to double life in prison plus 40 years without the possibility of parole. Many decried the sentence as excessive, most notably members of the Libertarian Party and the "Free Ross" movement. 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.{{cite web|title=Silk Road founder loses his appeal, will serve a life sentence for online crimes|date=May 31, 2017 |url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/05/31/ross-ulbricht-silk-road-appeal-denied/|publisher=Techcrunch.com|access-date=June 1, 2017|archive-date=May 31, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170531225626/https://techcrunch.com/2017/05/31/ross-ulbricht-silk-road-appeal-denied/|url-status=live}}{{cite web |title=Certiorari Denied |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/062818zr_k425.pdf |publisher=Supreme Court of the United States |page=5 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20180629151235/https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/062818zr_k425.pdf |archive-date=June 29, 2018 |access-date=June 29, 2018 |url-status=live }}{{cite web|title=Judgment in a Criminal Case (Sentencing)|url=https://www.docketalarm.com/cases/New_York_Southern_District_Court/1--14-cr-00068/USA_v._Ulbricht/269/|publisher=Docket Alarm|access-date=September 27, 2016|archive-date=October 1, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161001192356/https://www.docketalarm.com/cases/New_York_Southern_District_Court/1--14-cr-00068/USA_v._Ulbricht/269/|url-status=live}} After serving 12 years, he was released from prison in January 2025, when he received a full and unconditional pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump.

Early life

Ulbricht was born and raised in Austin, Texas. He was a Boy Scout,"[https://money.cnn.com/2015/05/28/technology/silk-road-ross-ulbricht-sentencing/index.html Silk Road's Ross Ulbricht: Drug 'kingpin' or 'idealistic' Boy Scout?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205031009/https://money.cnn.com/2015/05/28/technology/silk-road-ross-ulbricht-sentencing/index.html |date=December 5, 2020 }}" CNN/Money. May 28, 2015. Retrieved on June 15, 2015. attaining the rank of Eagle Scout.Segal, David. "[https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/19/business/eagle-scout-idealist-drug-trafficker.html?_r=0 Eagle Scout. Idealist. Drug Trafficker?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414131210/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/19/business/eagle-scout-idealist-drug-trafficker.html?_r=0 |date=April 14, 2021 }}" The New York Times. January 18, 2014. Retrieved on June 10, 2015. He attended West Ridge Middle School{{cite magazine|title = The Untold Story of Silk Road, Part 1|url = https://www.wired.com/2015/04/silk-road-1/|access-date = June 9, 2015|magazine = Wired|date = April 2015|archive-date = December 1, 2017|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171201214031/https://www.wired.com/2015/04/silk-road-1/|url-status = live}} and Westlake High School both in the Eanes Independent School District in the suburbs of Austin, graduating from high school in 2002."[https://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/man-with-austin-ties-charged-with-running-vast-und/nbDm4/ Man with Austin ties charged with running vast underground drugs website]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20150626111914/http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/man-with-austin-ties-charged-with-running-vast-und/nbDm4/ Archive]). Austin American-Statesman. October 2, 2013. Retrieved on June 14, 2015.

Ulbricht attended the University of Texas at Dallas on a full academic scholarship and graduated in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in physics. Ulbricht received an additional scholarship to attend Pennsylvania State University, where he was in a master's degree program in materials science and engineering and studied crystallography. By the time Ulbricht graduated from his master's degree program, he had become interested in libertarian economic theory and adhered to the political philosophy of Ludwig von Mises, supported Ron Paul, promoted agorism, and participated in college debates to discuss his economic views.Dewey, Caitlin. "[https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/10/03/everything-we-know-about-ross-ulbricht-the-outdoorsy-libertarian-behind-silk-road/ Everything we know about Ross Ulbricht, the outdoorsy libertarian behind Silk Road] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150513003703/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/10/03/everything-we-know-about-ross-ulbricht-the-outdoorsy-libertarian-behind-silk-road/ |date=May 13, 2015 }}". Washington Post. October 3, 2013. Retrieved on June 15, 2015.{{Cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/04/29/collected-quotations-of-the-dread-pirate-roberts-founder-of-the-drug-site-silk-road-and-radical-libertarian/|title=Collected Quotations Of The Dread Pirate Roberts, Founder Of Underground Drug Site Silk Road And Radical Libertarian|last=Greenburg|first=Andy|date=April 29, 2013|work=Forbes|access-date=May 5, 2018|archive-date=June 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612144311/https://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/04/29/collected-quotations-of-the-dread-pirate-roberts-founder-of-the-drug-site-silk-road-and-radical-libertarian/|url-status=live}} Ulbricht graduated from Penn State in 2009 and returned to Austin. He tried day trading and started a video game company, but neither venture succeeded. He eventually partnered with his friend Donny Palmertree to help build an online used bookseller, Good Wagon Books.

Silk Road

Palmertree, cofounder of Good Wagon Books, eventually moved to Dallas, leaving Ulbricht to run the bookseller by himself. Around this time, Ulbricht began planning Silk Road (initially called Underground Brokers).{{cite web|last1=Mullin|first1=Joe|title="I have secrets": Ross Ulbricht's private journal shows Silk Road's birth|url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/01/silk-road-trial-fbi-reveals-whats-on-ross-ulbrichts-computer-in-open-court/|website=Ars Technica|access-date=March 4, 2016|date=January 21, 2015|archive-date=January 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122225354/https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/01/silk-road-trial-fbi-reveals-whats-on-ross-ulbrichts-computer-in-open-court/|url-status=live}} In his personal diary, he outlined his idea for a website "where people could buy anything anonymously, with no trail whatsoever that could lead back to them". Ulbricht's ex-girlfriend said, "I remember when he had the idea ... He said something about ... the Silk Road in Asia ... and what a big network it was ... And that's what he wanted to create, so he thought it was the perfect name."{{cite web|title=Ex-girlfriend of dark web mastermind on dating a man wanted by the FBI|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ross-ulbricht-dread-pirate-roberts-silk-road-ex-girlfriend-fbi-declassified/|access-date=2021-01-15|website=www.cbsnews.com|date=November 10, 2020 |language=en-US|archive-date=November 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110142107/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ross-ulbricht-dread-pirate-roberts-silk-road-ex-girlfriend-fbi-declassified/|url-status=live}} Ulbricht alluded to Silk Road on his public LinkedIn page, where he discussed his wish to "use economic theory as a means to abolish the use of coercion and aggression amongst mankind" and claimed, "I am creating an economic simulation to give people a first-hand experience of what it would be like to live in a world without the systemic use of force."

Silk Road ran as an onion service on the Tor network, which implements data encryption and routes traffic through intermediary servers to anonymize the source and destination Internet Protocol addresses. By hosting his market as a Tor site, Ulbricht could conceal the server's IP address and, thus, its location.{{cite web|last1=Mullin|first1=Joe|title=Sunk: How Ross Ulbricht ended up in prison for life|url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/05/sunk-how-ross-ulbricht-ended-up-in-prison-for-life/1/|website=Ars Technica|publisher=Condé Nast|access-date=November 14, 2015|date=May 29, 2015|archive-date=June 1, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150601235653/https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/05/sunk-how-ross-ulbricht-ended-up-in-prison-for-life/1/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Leger|first1=Donna Leinwand|title=How FBI brought down cyber-underworld site Silk Road|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/21/fbi-cracks-silk-road/2984921/|access-date=December 13, 2015|newspaper=USA Today|date=May 15, 2014|archive-date=December 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151212030114/http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/10/21/fbi-cracks-silk-road/2984921/|url-status=live}} Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency, was used for transactions on the site. While all bitcoin transactions were recorded in a public ledger called the blockchain, users who avoided linking their legal names to their cryptocurrency wallets were able to conduct transactions with considerable anonymity.{{cite news|last1=Popper|first1=Nathaniel|title="We are up to something big": Silk Road discovers Bitcoin|url=http://www.salon.com/2015/05/24/we_are_up_to_something_big_silk_road_discovers_bitcoin/|work=Salon|access-date=December 13, 2015|date=May 24, 2015|archive-date=December 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222120801/http://www.salon.com/2015/05/24/we_are_up_to_something_big_silk_road_discovers_bitcoin/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Pagliery|first1=Jose|title=Bitcoin fallacy led to Silk Road founder's conviction|url=https://money.cnn.com/2015/02/05/technology/security/bitcoin-silk-road/|website=cnn.com|publisher=CNN Money|access-date=December 13, 2015|date=February 5, 2015|archive-date=February 7, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207094509/https://money.cnn.com/2015/02/05/technology/security/bitcoin-silk-road/|url-status=live}} Ulbricht used the "Dread Pirate Roberts" username for Silk Road, although it is disputed whether only he used that account.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2015/02/ross-ulbricht-didnt-create-silk-roads-dread-pirate-roberts-guy/|title=Ross Ulbricht Didn't Create Silk Road's Dread Pirate Roberts. This Guy Did|last=Greenburg|first=Andy|date=February 9, 2015|magazine=Wired|access-date=May 5, 2018|archive-date=June 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617045930/https://www.wired.com/2015/02/ross-ulbricht-didnt-create-silk-roads-dread-pirate-roberts-guy/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/someone-accessed-dread-pirate-roberts-silk-road-operators-account-while-ross-ulbricht-was-in-jail/|title=Someone Accessed Silk Road Operator's Account While Ross Ulbricht Was in Jail|last=Koebler|first=Jason|date=December 1, 2016|work=Motherboard|access-date=May 5, 2018|archive-date=March 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180308131756/https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/qkjm4m/someone-accessed-dread-pirate-roberts-silk-road-operators-account-while-ross-ulbricht-was-in-jail|url-status=live}} He attributed his inspiration for creating the Silk Road marketplace to the novel Alongside Night and the works of Samuel Edward Konkin III.File:Silk Road Seized.jpg

Arrest and trial

=Initial arrest=

File:Glen Park Branch Library (27459485380).jpg, where Ulbricht was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation ]]

Law enforcement broke Silk Road's cover in a number of ways. A drug agency investigator infiltrated the site and became an admin, gaining inside information about the site operations. He found Ulbricht's chats showed Pacific time, narrowing down his likely location.{{Cite web |last=Corfield |first=Gareth |title=I helped catch Silk Road boss Ross Ulbricht: Undercover agent tells all |url=https://www.theregister.com/2019/01/29/how_i_caught_silk_road_mastermind/ |access-date=2023-05-26 |website=theregister.com |archive-date=May 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230526210425/https://www.theregister.com/2019/01/29/how_i_caught_silk_road_mastermind/ |url-status=live }} Law enforcement seized a Silk Road server in Iceland.{{cite web |first=Trevor |last=McAleenan |date=November 7, 2022 |title=U.S. v. Ross Ulbricht S1 14 Cr. 68 (LGS), exhibit 5: affidavit in support of government's forfeiture motion |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/press-release/file/1549821/download |access-date=November 28, 2022 |archive-date=December 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201050441/https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/press-release/file/1549821/download |url-status=dead }}{{cite magazine |last=Greenberg |first=Andy |date=September 5, 2014 |title=The FBI Finally Says How It 'Legally' Pinpointed Silk Road's Server |url=https://www.wired.com/2014/09/the-fbi-finally-says-how-it-legally-pinpointed-silk-roads-server/ |magazine=Wired |access-date=2022-11-28 |archive-date=January 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190114185052/https://www.wired.com/2014/09/the-fbi-finally-says-how-it-legally-pinpointed-silk-roads-server/ |url-status=live }} Ulbricht was connected to "Dread Pirate Roberts" by Gary Alford, an Internal Revenue Service investigator working with the Drug Enforcement Administration on the Silk Road case, in mid-2013.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/27/business/dealbook/the-unsung-tax-agent-who-put-a-face-on-the-silk-road.html|title=The Tax Sleuth Who Took Down a Drug Lord|work=The New York Times|first=Nathaniel|last=Popper|date=December 25, 2015|access-date=December 26, 2015|archive-date=December 25, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151225215838/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/27/business/dealbook/the-unsung-tax-agent-who-put-a-face-on-the-silk-road.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Silk Road: Google search unmasked Dread Pirate Roberts|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/magazine-40977474/silk-road-google-search-unmasked-dread-pirate-roberts|access-date=August 19, 2017|work=BBC News|date=August 19, 2017|archive-date=August 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819002514/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/magazine-40977474/silk-road-google-search-unmasked-dread-pirate-roberts|url-status=live}} The connection was made by linking the username "altoid", used during Silk Road's early days to announce the website, and a forum post in which Ulbricht, posting under the nickname "altoid", asked for programming help and gave his email address, which contained his full name. On October 1, 2013, the FBI arrested Ulbricht at the Glen Park branch of the San Francisco Public Library and accused him of being the "mastermind" behind the site.{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24842410 | title=Dark net marketplace Silk Road 'back online' | work=BBC | date=November 6, 2013 | access-date=December 20, 2013 | archive-date=November 7, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131107014649/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24842410 | url-status=live }}{{cite web | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2013/10/02/who-is-ross-ulbricht-piecing-together-the-life-of-the-alleged-libertarian-mastermind-behind-silk-road/2/ | title=Who Is Ross Ulbricht? Piecing Together The Life Of The Alleged Libertarian Mastermind Behind Silk Road [Page 2] | work=Forbes | date=October 2, 2013 | access-date=December 19, 2013 | author=Mac, Ryan | archive-date=October 5, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005023107/https://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2013/10/02/who-is-ross-ulbricht-piecing-together-the-life-of-the-alleged-libertarian-mastermind-behind-silk-road/2/ | url-status=live }}{{cite web |url = https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/nov/21/silk-road-founder-held-without-bail|title = Silk Road founder Ross William Ulbricht denied bail|work = The Guardian|date = November 21, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305020239/http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/nov/21/silk-road-founder-held-without-bail|archive-date = March 5, 2016}}

To prevent Ulbricht from encrypting or deleting files on the laptop he was using to run the site as he was arrested, two agents pretended to be engaged in a quarrel to cause a commotion. Once Ulbricht was sufficiently distracted,{{cite news|last=Bertrand|first=Natasha|author-link=Natasha Bertrand|date=May 29, 2015|title=The FBI staged a lovers' fight to catch the kingpin of the web's biggest illegal drug marketplace|newspaper=Business Insider|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/ross-ulbricht-will-be-sentenced-soon--heres-how-he-was-arrested-2015-5|url-status=live|access-date=May 30, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160625023157/http://www.businessinsider.com/ross-ulbricht-will-be-sentenced-soon--heres-how-he-was-arrested-2015-5|archive-date=June 25, 2016}} according to Joshuah Bearman of Wired, several agents quickly moved in to arrest him while another agent grabbed the laptop and handed it to agent Thomas Kiernan.{{cite web|title=Trial Transcript, Day 2, page 856|url=https://freeross.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Day_5-2015_Jan_21_Trial_780-1030.pdf#page=77|access-date=January 21, 2015|date=January 21, 2015|archive-date=August 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180807032544/https://freeross.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Day_5-2015_Jan_21_Trial_780-1030.pdf#page=77|url-status=live}} Kiernan then inserted a flash drive into one of the laptop's USB ports, with software that copied key files. Ulbricht was ordered held without bail.

=Court proceedings=

On February 4, 2014, Ulbricht was charged with engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, narcotics conspiracy, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to commit computer hacking.{{Cite web |date=2015-05-13 |title=Manhattan U.S. Attorney Announces The Indictment Of Ross Ulbricht, The Creator And Owner Of The "Silk Road" Website |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/manhattan-us-attorney-announces-indictment-ross-ulbricht-creator-and-owner-silk-road |access-date=2022-12-07 |website=www.justice.gov |language=en |archive-date=December 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207192708/https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/manhattan-us-attorney-announces-indictment-ross-ulbricht-creator-and-owner-silk-road |url-status=live }} On August 21, 2014, a superseding indictment added three additional charges.{{cite web |date=February 4, 2014 |title=Ross Ulbricht Indictment |url=https://freeross.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Ross_Ulbricht_superseding_indictment_8-21-2014.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180807033120/https://freeross.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Ross_Ulbricht_superseding_indictment_8-21-2014.pdf |archive-date=August 7, 2018 |access-date=February 4, 2014 |work=U.S District Court Southern District of New York}} The trial began on January 13, 2015.{{Cite news |date=2015-01-13 |title=US trial of alleged Silk Road creator begins |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30795245 |access-date=2025-01-13 |work=BBC News |language=en-GB}}

Federal prosecutors alleged that Ulbricht had paid $730,000 in murder-for-hire deals targeting at least five people, because they purportedly threatened to reveal the Silk Road enterprise.{{cite press release |date=May 11, 2023 |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/silk-road-drug-vendor-who-claimed-commit-murders-hire-silk-road-founder-ross-ulbricht |title=Silk Road Drug Vendor Who Claimed to Commit Murders-for-Hire for Silk Road Founder Ross Ulbricht Charged with Narcotics and Money Laundering Conspiracies |publisher=United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York |access-date=2023-12-09 |archive-date=December 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209075937/https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/silk-road-drug-vendor-who-claimed-commit-murders-hire-silk-road-founder-ross-ulbricht |url-status=live }}{{cite news |first1=Alan |last1=Klasfeld |date=January 29, 2015 |url=https://www.courthousenews.com/silk-road-murder-threat-shown-as-case-nears-end/ |title=Silk Road Murder Threat Shown as Case Nears End |access-date=2023-12-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120082824/https://www.courthousenews.com/silk-road-murder-threat-shown-as-case-nears-end/ |archive-date=January 20, 2021 |work= Courthouse News Service |quote=Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht is not charged with murder for hire in his New York trial, but federal prosecutors have long accused him of hiring a hit-man to kill those who threatened his underground online drug empire. Minutes before the second week of Ulbricht's trial ended on Thursday, a jury saw email records supporting this allegation.}} Prosecutors state that no contracted killing ever actually occurred. Ulbricht was not charged in his trial in New York federal court with this offense,{{cite web|url=http://www.dailydot.com/crime/silk-road-murder-charges-ross-ulbricht/|website=The Daily Dot|title=The mystery of the disappearing Silk Road murder charges|author=Patrick Howell O'Neill|date=October 22, 2014|access-date=June 14, 2015|archive-date=June 13, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613004335/http://www.dailydot.com/crime/silk-road-murder-charges-ross-ulbricht/|url-status=live}} although some evidence was introduced at trial supporting the allegations.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2017/05/silk-road-creator-ross-ulbricht-loses-life-sentence-appeal/|magazine=Wired|title=Silk Road Creator Ross Ulbricht Loses His Life Sentence Appeal|author=Andy Greenberg|date=May 31, 2017|access-date=August 19, 2020|archive-date=May 31, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170531175825/https://www.wired.com/2017/05/silk-road-creator-ross-ulbricht-loses-life-sentence-appeal/|url-status=live}} The district court found by a preponderance of the evidence that Ulbricht probably sent messages inquiring about such orders.{{Cite court|litigants=United States of America v. Ulbricht|court=2d Cir.|opinion=15-1815-cr|pinpoint=pg 33|date=May 31st, 2017|url=https://pdfserver.amlaw.com/nlj/ULBRICHT-ca2-20170531.pdf|quote=For example, because Ulbricht contested his responsibility for the

five commissioned murders for hire, the district court found by a preponderance of the evidence that Ulbricht did, in fact, commission the murders, believing that they would be carried out.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207223347/https://pdfserver.amlaw.com/nlj/ULBRICHT-ca2-20170531.pdf|url-status=live}} The possibility that Ulbricht might have commissioned hits was considered by the judge in sentencing Ulbricht to life and was a factor in the Second Circuit's decision to uphold the sentence. Ulbricht was separately indicted in federal court in Maryland on a single related charge, alleging that he contracted to have one of his employees (a former Silk Road moderator) killed.Joseph Cox, [https://www.vice.com/en/article/murdered-silk-road-employee-sentenced-to-time-served/ 'Murdered' Silk Road Employee Sentenced to Time Served] , Vice (January 26, 2016). Prosecutors ultimately moved to drop this indictment as it was lacking in substantive evidence and after his New York conviction on other charges became final.{{cite web |url=https://reason.com/2018/07/25/ross-ulbrichts-murder-for-hire-charges-d/ |title=Ross Ulbricht's Murder-for-Hire Charges Dropped by U.S. Attorney |first=Brian |last=Doherty |date=July 25, 2018 |website=Reason.com |access-date=November 22, 2019 |archive-date=April 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427084729/https://reason.com/2018/07/25/ross-ulbrichts-murder-for-hire-charges-d/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://freeross.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Doc_14_Dismissal_Indictment_7-26-2018.pdf/ |title=Motion to Dismiss Indictment and Superseding Indictment |author=United States District Court for the District of Maryland |access-date=November 22, 2019 |archive-date=August 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827202144/http://freeross.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Doc_14_Dismissal_Indictment_7-26-2018.pdf |url-status=dead }}

=Conviction and sentence=

On February 4, 2015, Ulbricht was convicted on all counts after a jury trial that had taken place in January 2015.{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/accused-silk-road-operator-ross-ulbricht-convicted-all-counts-n299606|title=Accused Silk Road Operator Ross Ulbricht Convicted on All Counts|publisher=NBC News|date=February 4, 2015|access-date=June 21, 2015|archive-date=February 7, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207065328/http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/accused-silk-road-operator-ross-ulbricht-convicted-all-counts-n299606|url-status=live}} On May 29, 2015, he was sentenced to double life imprisonment plus 40 years, without the possibility of parole. Ulbricht was also ordered to pay about $183 million in restitution, based on the total sales of illegal drugs and counterfeit IDs through Silk Road.{{cite web|url = https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/may/29/silk-road-ross-ulbricht-sentenced|title = Silk Road operator Ross Ulbricht sentenced to life in prison|date = May 29, 2015|access-date = October 17, 2015|website = The Guardian|last = Thielman|first = Sam|archive-date = May 30, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150530053603/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/may/29/silk-road-ross-ulbricht-sentenced|url-status = live}}{{Cite magazine |last=Greenberg |first=Andy |date=May 29, 2015 |title=Silk Road Creator Ross Ulbricht Sentenced to Life in Prison |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/2015/05/silk-road-creator-ross-ulbricht-sentenced-life-prison/ |access-date=2022-10-24 |issn=1059-1028 |archive-date=May 29, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529215648/http://www.wired.com/2015/05/silk-road-creator-ross-ulbricht-sentenced-life-prison/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite press release |date=May 29, 2015 |title=Ross Ulbricht, aka Dread Pirate Roberts, sentenced to life in federal prison for creating, operating 'Silk Road' website |url=https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ross-ulbricht-aka-dread-pirate-roberts-sentenced-life-federal-prison-creating |publisher=U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement |access-date=October 24, 2022 |archive-date=October 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221024021936/https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ross-ulbricht-aka-dread-pirate-roberts-sentenced-life-federal-prison-creating |url-status=live }} Following his conviction, two of the federal agents who participated in the investigation were arrested and charged with wire fraud and money laundering.{{Cite news |last=Henn |first=Steve |date=2015-05-29 |title=Silk Road Founder Sentenced To Life In Prison |url=https://www.npr.org/2015/05/29/410601330/silk-road-founder-sentenced-to-life-in-prison |access-date=2025-01-24 |work=NPR |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2015-03-30 |title=Former Federal Agents Charged With Bitcoin Money Laundering and Wire Fraud |url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-federal-agents-charged-bitcoin-money-laundering-and-wire-fraud |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=United States Department of Justice |language=en}} As the corruption was never mentioned at his trial,{{Cite web |last=Jeong |first=Sarah |date=2015-10-20 |title=DEA Agent Who Faked a Murder and Took Bitcoins from Silk Road Explains Himself |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/dea-agent-who-faked-a-murder-and-took-bitcoins-from-silk-road-explains-himself/ |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=VICE |language=en-US}} Ulbricht unsuccessfully used it as an argument when appealing for a new trial.{{Cite web |last=Doherty |first=Brian |date=2017-05-31 |title=Ross Ulbricht Loses His Appeal Over Conviction and Sentencing in Silk Road Case [UPDATED] |url=https://reason.com/2017/05/31/ross-ulbricht-loses-his-appeal-over-conv/ |access-date=2025-01-24 |website=Reason |language=en-US}}

Post-conviction

=Incarceration=

During his trial, Ulbricht was incarcerated at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, New York.{{cite book | last = Bilton | first = Nick | author-link =Nick Bilton | title =American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road | publisher =Portfolio/Penguin | year = 2017 | page=300 |isbn=9781591848141 }} Starting in July 2017, he was held at USP Florence High.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}} His mother, Lyn, moved to Colorado so she could visit him regularly.{{cite web|author=Mangu-Ward, Katherine|url=https://reason.com/archives/2018/05/31/ross-ulbricht-is-serving-a-dou|title=Ross Ulbricht Is Serving a Double Life Sentence|date=July 2018|access-date=2018-12-31|archive-date=May 31, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180531181636/https://reason.com/archives/2018/05/31/ross-ulbricht-is-serving-a-dou|url-status=live}} Ulbricht was later transferred to USP Tucson.{{Cite web |last=Ulbricht |first=Lyn |title=Trump's visit to Phoenix gives people hope. Mine is he commutes my son's life sentence |url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2020/02/19/trump-prison-reform-ross-ulbricht-commute-silk-road-sentence/4763198002/ |access-date=2022-06-20 |website=The Arizona Republic |language=en-US |archive-date=June 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220620224408/https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2020/02/19/trump-prison-reform-ross-ulbricht-commute-silk-road-sentence/4763198002/ |url-status=live }}

=Appeal attempts=

File:2nd Cir. oral argument. 15-1815 US v Ulbricht - audio extracted.ogg]]

Ulbricht appealed his conviction and sentence to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in January 2016, claiming that the prosecution illegally withheld evidence of DEA agents' malfeasance in the investigation of Silk Road, of which two agents were convicted.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2016/01/ross-ulbrichts-defense-focuses-on-corrupt-feds-in-silk-road-appeal/|title=In Silk Road Appeal, Ross Ulbricht's Defense Focuses on Corrupt Feds|first=Andy|last=Greenberg|magazine=Wired|date=January 12, 2016|access-date=January 13, 2016|archive-date=January 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113044804/https://www.wired.com/2016/01/ross-ulbrichts-defense-focuses-on-corrupt-feds-in-silk-road-appeal/|url-status=live}} Ulbricht also argued his sentence was too harsh.{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cyber-silkroad-idUSKBN18R23A|title=Silk Road website founder loses appeal of conviction, life sentence|last=Stempel|first=Jonathan|date=May 31, 2017|work=Reuters|access-date=May 5, 2018|archive-date=May 31, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170531181814/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cyber-silkroad-idUSKBN18R23A|url-status=live}} Oral arguments were heard in October 2016,{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2016/10/judges-question-ulbrichts-life-sentence-silk-road-appeal/|title=Judges Question Ross Ulbricht's Life Sentence in Silk Road Appeal|first=Andy|last=Greenberg|date=October 6, 2016|access-date=October 15, 2016|magazine=Wired|archive-date=October 7, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007085909/https://www.wired.com/2016/10/judges-question-ulbrichts-life-sentence-silk-road-appeal/|url-status=live}}[http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=7379835016583659897 United States v. Ulbricht] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210824033000/https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=7379835016583659897 |date=August 24, 2021 }}, 858 F.3d 71 (2d. Cir. 2017) and the Second Circuit issued its decision in May 2017, upholding Ulbricht's conviction and sentence in an opinion by Judge Gerard E. Lynch. In a 139-page opinion,Cassye M. Cole & Harry Sandick, [https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=859c567f-bb3b-4f3a-b581-037a4e45e523 A Long Journey Through "Silk Road" Appeal: Second Circuit Affirms Conviction and Life Sentence of Silk Road Mastermind] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201205029/https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=859c567f-bb3b-4f3a-b581-037a4e45e523 |date=February 1, 2021 }}, Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, Lexology (June 8, 2017): "At trial, the government presented evidence that Ulbricht conspired to engage in multiple murders for hire to protect Silk Road's anonymity. Ulbricht was not charged with these offenses. ... At sentencing, in its Pre-Sentence Investigation Report, the U.S. Probation Office referenced the five commissioned murders, as well as six drug-related deaths connected with Silk Road. On May 29, 2015, the district court sentenced Ulbricht to life in prison, pursuant to the guidelines advisory sentence range, and based on the recommendation of the U.S. Probation Office. ... While the Court recognized that a life sentence for selling drugs was rare and could be considered harsh, the facts of this case involved much more than routine drug dealings—namely that Ulbricht commissioned at least five murders for hire and did not challenge those murders on appeal." the court affirmed the district court's denial of Ulbricht's motion to suppress certain evidence, affirmed the district court's decisions on discovery and the admission of expert testimony, and rejected Ulbricht's argument that a life sentence was procedurally or substantively unreasonable.

In December 2017, Ulbricht filed a petition for certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the Court to hear his appeal on evidentiary and sentencing issues.{{Cite news|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-supreme-court-is-silk-road-founder-ross-ulbrichts-last-hope/|title=The Supreme Court is Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht's last hope|work=VICE News|access-date=February 24, 2018|language=en|archive-date=February 3, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203042553/https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/kzn7a9/the-supreme-court-is-silk-road-founder-ross-ulbrichts-last-hope|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/17/17-950/24860/20171222095855755_Ulbricht%20cert%20petition.pdf|title=Ulbricht v. U.S.|last=Ulbricht|first=Ross|date=December 22, 2017|website=SupremeCourt.Gov|access-date=February 23, 2018|archive-date=February 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180220151956/https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/17/17-950/24860/20171222095855755_Ulbricht%20cert%20petition.pdf|url-status=live}} Ulbricht's petition asked whether the warrantless seizure of an individual's internet traffic information, without probable cause, violated the Fourth Amendment, and whether the Sixth Amendment permits judges to find facts necessary to support an otherwise unreasonable sentence.{{cite web|url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/17/17-950/24860/20171222095855755_Ulbricht%20cert%20petition.pdf|title=Ulbricht v. U.S.|last=Ulbricht|first=Ross|date=December 22, 2017|website=SupremeCourt.Gov|access-date=May 5, 2021|archive-date=February 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180220151956/https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/17/17-950/24860/20171222095855755_Ulbricht%20cert%20petition.pdf|url-status=live}} Twenty-one amici filed five amicus curiae briefs in support of Ulbricht, including the National Lawyers Guild, American Black Cross, Reason Foundation, Drug Policy Alliance, and Downsize DC Foundation. The U.S. government filed a response in opposition to Ulbricht's petition.{{Cite news|url=http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/ulbricht-v-united-states/|title=Ulbricht v. United States|work=SCOTUSblog|access-date=February 24, 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=February 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227161804/http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/ulbricht-v-united-states/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/17/17-950/38031/20180307141700560_17-950%20Ulbricht%20FINAL.pdf|title=Ulbricht v. U.S.|last=Francisco|first=Noel|date=March 7, 2018|website=SupremeCourt.Gov|access-date=March 31, 2018|archive-date=April 1, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180401075233/https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/17/17-950/38031/20180307141700560_17-950%20Ulbricht%20FINAL.pdf|url-status=live}} On June 28, 2018, the Supreme Court denied the petition, declining to consider Ulbricht's appeal.{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-silkroad/us-supreme-court-turns-away-silk-road-website-founders-appeal-idUSKBN1JO1YX|title=U.S. Supreme Court turns away Silk Road website founder's appeal|work=Reuters|date=June 28, 2018|language=en-US|access-date=June 29, 2018|archive-date=November 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109041240/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-silkroad/us-supreme-court-turns-away-silk-road-website-founders-appeal-idUSKBN1JO1YX|url-status=live}}

In a 2020 Vanity Fair article, it was asserted that Ulbricht had rejected a plea deal that would have potentially given him a decade-long sentence, stating that "According to more than a dozen investigators and attorneys involved in the case ... Ulbricht's sentence could have been a lot less severe."{{cite magazine |last=Bilton |first=Nick |date=December 18, 2020 |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/12/the-double-standard-of-a-trump-pardon-for-silk-road-founder-ross-ulbricht |title='You Are a Criminal': The Double Standard of a Trump Pardon for Silk Road Founder Ross Ulbricht. |magazine=Vanity Fair |access-date=December 20, 2020 |archive-date=February 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210212143057/https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/12/the-double-standard-of-a-trump-pardon-for-silk-road-founder-ross-ulbricht |url-status=live }} However, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Howard, who was co-responsible for prosecuting the case, stated that a plea deal with a mandatory minimum of 10 years was "discussed at the final pretrial conference on December 17, 2014", the maximum sentence of life imprisonment was strongly recommended based on the sentencing guideline and testified that "no such plea offer was ever extended to Ross William Ulbricht, or conveyed to his then-counsel" before Ulbricht's indictment.{{cite web |title=AFFIDAVIT of AUSA Timothy T. Howard |url=https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/16044166/38/ulbricht-v-united-states/ |access-date=15 March 2022 |date=9 April 2021 |website=Court Listener |series=Ulbricht v. United States, Docket 1:19-cv-07512 |location=U.S. District Court, S.D. New York |archive-date=March 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220315175229/https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/16044166/38/ulbricht-v-united-states/ |url-status=live }}

=Calls for commutation=

Ulbricht's conviction became a cause célèbre in American libertarian circles.{{Cite web |last=Roeloffs |first=Mary Whitfill |title=Cybercriminal Ross Ulbricht's Family Says He'll Be Freed In January—Here's What We Know |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2024/11/08/cybercriminal-ross-ulbrichts-family-says-hell-be-freed-in-january-heres-what-we-know/ |access-date=2024-11-12 |website=Forbes |language=en}}{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/story/silk-road-creator-ross-ulbricht-is-waiting-for-trump-to-keep-his-word-and-set-him-free/|title=Silk Road Creator Ross Ulbricht Is Waiting for Trump to Keep His Word—and Set Him Free|first=Joel|last=Khalili|magazine=Wired |via=www.wired.com}} After Ross's arrest, his mother, Lyn Ulbricht, initiated a campaign for a sentence review and early release. The "Free Ross" movement quickly spread through social media, merchandise, and a petition with over 600,000 signatures. Over the years, the campaign found support from libertarian politicians, prison reform advocates, and members of the cryptocurrency community, who view Ulbricht as a Bitcoin pioneer who helped spread Bitcoin use through his website. In May 2022, the Libertarian Republican Congressman Thomas Massie called for a commutation of Ulbricht's conviction.{{cite news |last1=Nino |first1=Jose |title=Thomas Massie Calls for the Biden Administration to Grant Ross Ulbricht Clemency |url=https://libertyconservativenews.com/thomas-massie-calls-for-the-biden-administration-to-grant-ross-ulbricht-clemency/ |date=May 24, 2022 |access-date=August 4, 2023 |archive-date=August 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804003143/https://libertyconservativenews.com/thomas-massie-calls-for-the-biden-administration-to-grant-ross-ulbricht-clemency/ |url-status=live }} The libertarian-oriented Reason Foundation attempted to raise funds, citing Ulbricht's case,{{cite news |last1=Welch |first1=Matt |title=Help Reason Fight for the Unjustly Imprisoned |url=https://reason.com/2018/12/04/help-reason-fight-for-the-unjustly-impri/ |date=December 4, 2018 |access-date=August 4, 2023 |archive-date=August 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804003142/https://reason.com/2018/12/04/help-reason-fight-for-the-unjustly-impri/ |url-status=live }} without taking any legal action, and 2020 Libertarian Party presidential candidate Jo Jorgensen made a campaign pledge to pardon Ulbricht.{{cite web |title=Libertarian Jo Jorgensen Talks About Ross Ulbricht |website=YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F9BntDyk3g&ab_channel=NicholasShankin |date=Nov 2, 2020 |access-date=August 4, 2023 |archive-date=August 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230804003142/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F9BntDyk3g&ab_channel=NicholasShankin |url-status=live }}

In May 2024, candidate Donald Trump said that if re-elected President, he would commute Ulbricht's sentence on his first day in office.{{Cite web |date=2024-05-25 |title=Trump to announce plans to commute 'Silk Road' website operator Ross Ulbricht's prison sentence |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/trump-commute-silk-road-website-operator-ross-ulbrichts-life-prison-se-rcna154082 |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=NBC News |language=en |first1=Abigail |last1=Brooks |first2=Megan |last2=Lebowitz |archive-date=May 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240526014103/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/trump-commute-silk-road-website-operator-ross-ulbrichts-life-prison-se-rcna154082 |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |last=Doherty |first=Brian |date=2024-11-04 |title=The Peculiar Phenomenon of Libertarians Supporting Donald Trump |url=https://reason.com/2024/11/04/the-peculiar-phenomenon-of-libertarians-supporting-donald-trump/?utm_medium=reason_email&utm_source=new_at_reason&utm_campaign=reason_brand&utm_content=Don't%20Blame%20Me%20for%20Not%20Voting%20for%20Your%20Unbelievably%20Rotten%20Candidate&utm_term=&time=November%204th,%202024&mpid=38717&mpweb=2534-4889-38717 |access-date=2024-11-05 |website=Reason.com |language=en-US}} Wired magazine, reporting from a 2024 Bitcoin conference in Nashville, said that clemency for Ulbricht had become a single-issue voting concern among many cryptocurrency supporters.{{Cite magazine |last=Klein |first=Jessica |title=Bitcoin Bros Go Wild for Donald Trump |url=https://www.wired.com/story/bitcoin-bros-go-wild-for-donald-trump/ |access-date=2024-07-31 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}} In the November 2024 issue of Reason magazine, the 2024 Libertarian nominee for president, Chase Oliver, said, "I would like to see [Trump], if he were elected, commute Ross Ulbricht's sentence. Frankly, if I were president, I would give him a full pardon."{{Cite web |last=Gillespie |first=Nick |date=2024-10-10 |title=Chase Oliver on budget cuts, war, and immigration |url=https://reason.com/2024/10/10/chase-oliver-wants-your-vote/ |access-date=2024-11-12 |website=Reason.com |language=en-US}}

= Silk Road assets and Bitcoin =

In 2021, Ulbricht's prosecutors and defense agreed that Ulbricht would relinquish any ownership of a newly discovered fund of 50,676 Bitcoin (worth nearly $5.35 billion in 2025) seized from a hacker in November 2021.{{cite news |last1=Ramey |first1=Corinne |date=7 November 2022 |title=Justice Department Announces Seizure of Bitcoin Once Valued at $3.36 Billion |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/justice-department-announces-seizure-of-3-36-billion-in-bitcoin-11667845419? |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221107213550/https://www.wsj.com/articles/justice-department-announces-seizure-of-3-36-billion-in-bitcoin-11667845419 |archive-date=November 7, 2022 |access-date=7 November 2022 |publisher=Wall Street Journal}} The Bitcoin had been stolen from Silk Road in 2013, and Ulbricht had been unsuccessful in getting them back. The U.S. government traced and seized the stolen Bitcoin. Ulbricht and the government agreed the fund would be used to pay off Ulbricht's $183 million debt in his criminal case, while the Department of Justice would take custody of the Bitcoin.{{Cite magazine |last=Greenberg |first=Andy |date=April 22, 2022 |title=A $3 Billion Silk Road Seizure Will Erase Ross Ulbricht's Debt |url=https://www.wired.com/story/silk-road-ross-ulbricht-debt-bitcoin-siezure/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023200512/https://www.wired.com/story/silk-road-ross-ulbricht-debt-bitcoin-siezure/ |archive-date=October 23, 2022 |access-date=2022-10-23 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Andrew |date=2022-04-24 |title=Silk Road Founder Ross Ulbricht To Forfeit $3 billion worth of BTC To The US Government |url=https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2022/04/24/silk-road-founder-ross-ulbricht-to-forfeit-3-billion-worth-of-btc-to-the-us-government/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023200513/https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2022/04/24/silk-road-founder-ross-ulbricht-to-forfeit-3-billion-worth-of-btc-to-the-us-government/ |archive-date=October 23, 2022 |access-date=2022-10-23 |website=The Coin Republic: Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, Ethereum & Blockchain News |language=en-US}}

Presidential pardon and release

On January 21, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump granted Ulbricht a full and unconditional pardon,{{Cite news |last1=Yaffe-Bellany |first1=David |last2=Mac |first2=Ryan |date=2025-01-22 |title=Trump Pardons Ross Ulbricht, Creator of Silk Road Drug Marketplace |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/21/technology/trump-ross-ulbricht-silk-road.html |access-date=2025-01-22 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} following a promise at the 2024 Libertarian National Convention.{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/21/ross-ulbricht-silk-road-trump-pardon | title=Trump pardons Ross Ulbricht, founder of Silk Road drug marketplace | work=The Guardian }} Trump said of the pardon in a Truth Social post:

"I just called the mother of Ross William Ulbricht to let her know that in honor of her and the Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly, it was my pleasure to have just signed a full and unconditional pardon of her son, Ross. The scum that worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern day weaponization of government against me. He was given two life sentences, plus 40 years. Ridiculous!"{{Cite web |title=Trump pardons Ross Ulbricht, creator of dark web marketplace Silk Road |url=https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113869112741612092 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250122064625/https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/113869112741612092 |archive-date=2025-01-22 |access-date=2025-01-22 |website=Truth Social. |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=McLaughlin |first=Jenna |date=January 21, 2025 |title=Trump pardons Ross Ulbricht, creator of the Silk Road dark web marketplace |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/01/21/nx-s1-5270051/trump-pardons-dark-web-marketplace-creator-ross-ulbricht |access-date=January 22, 2025 |work=NPR |language=en}} Ulbricht was released from a federal prison in Arizona that evening. Photos circulated on social media showing him reunited with his wife and family.{{Cite news |title=Trump pardons Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht for online drug scheme |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-pardons-silk-road-founder-ulbricht-online-drug-scheme-2025-01-22/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250127041124/https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-pardons-silk-road-founder-ulbricht-online-drug-scheme-2025-01-22/ |archive-date=2025-01-27 |access-date=2025-03-27 |work=Reuters |language=en-US}}

Trump's pardon of Ulbricht was criticized by some in the press. Wrote The Nation,

"It’s an especially telling irony given that Trump has also repeatedly advocated the death penalty for convicted drug dealers--and it’s doubtful anyone within the United States has trafficked in drugs on the scale that Ulbricht has."{{Cite magazine |last=Lehmann |first=Chris |date=January 27, 2025 |title=Trump's Pardon of Ross Ulbricht Is a Sign of the Corruption to Come |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/trump-pardon-ross-ulbricht/ |access-date=2025-04-29 |magazine=The Nation |issn=0027-8378}}

Other ventures

=Good Wagon Books=

In 2010, Ulbricht partnered with his friend Donny Palmertree to help build an online used bookseller, Good Wagon Books. Following the departure of Palmertree, he continued to operate the business as CEO until March 2011.{{cite web | url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/rossulbricht | title=Ross Ulbricht - Good Wagon Books | LinkedIn }}

= 2021 NFT sale =

Ulbricht's family raised money for efforts to release him from prison via the decentralized autonomous organization FreeRossDAO, which accepted donations from the public. In December 2021, the family auctioned a collection of his writings and artwork as an NFT, which FreeRossDAO bought for 1,442 Ethereum, worth about $6.27 million at the time.{{cite web|title=NFT of Silk Road founder's art sells for more than $6 million|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/nft-silk-road-founders-art-sells-6-million-rcna8369|access-date=2022-01-09|website=NBC News|date=December 10, 2021 |language=en|archive-date=January 9, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220109163523/https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/nft-silk-road-founders-art-sells-6-million-rcna8369|url-status=live}}{{cite magazine |last=Mak |first=Aaron |date=2022-01-25 |title=The Crypto Obsessives Trying to Save a Notorious Internet Criminal From Prison |url=https://slate.com/technology/2022/01/ross-ulbricht-dao-silk-road-prison.html |access-date=2022-01-25 |website=Slate Magazine |language=en |archive-date=January 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125170102/https://slate.com/technology/2022/01/ross-ulbricht-dao-silk-road-prison.html |url-status=live }}

Personal life

The son of Kirk and Lyn Ulbricht,{{Cite web |last=Segall |first=Laurie |date=2015-02-03 |title=Silk Road founder's parents speak to CNNMoney in an exclusive interview. |url=https://money.cnn.com/2015/02/03/technology/silk-road-founder-parents-ulbricht/ |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=CNNMoney}} Ross has a sister, Cally, who was residing in Australia at the time of his arrest,{{Cite web |last=Marcus |first=Caroline |date=5 October 2013 |title=Ross William Ulbricht lived at Bondi while allegedly developing billion-dollar drugs website Silk Road |url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/ross-william-ulbricht-lived-at-bondi-while-allegedly-developing-billiondollar-drugs-website-silk-road/news-story/a3dbacdd6a7b9fd2feb37c72fb41fe50 |access-date=26 March 2025 |website=The Daily Telegraph}} and a half-brother, Travis.{{Cite magazine |last=Kopfstein |first=Janus |date=2013-10-03 |title=How the eBay of Illegal Drugs Came Undone |url=https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/how-the-ebay-of-illegal-drugs-came-undone |access-date=2025-03-26 |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US |issn=0028-792X}} His parents were reported to earn most of their income from renting out beachside vacation homes in Costa Rica. During his incarceration, his mother became a prominent campaigner for his release.{{Cite news |last=Power |first=Mike |date=2014-12-24 |title=Mother of Silk Road accused Ross Ulbricht: my son is innocent |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/dec/24/mother-of-silk-roads-ross-ulbricht-my-son-is-innocent |access-date=2025-03-26 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

While studying at the University of Texas, Ulbricht reportedly became engaged. However, he ended the relationship after discovering that his girlfriend had cheated on him with a close friend. During his graduate studies at Penn State, he began a relationship with Julia Vie, then a freshman student at the university.{{Cite news |first1=Caroline |last1=Sommers |first2=Emily |last2=Bernstein |date=November 10, 2020 |title=Inside the FBI's search for Ross Ulbricht, dark web kingpin of Silk Road |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ross-ulbricht-dread-pirate-roberts-silk-road-fbi/ |access-date=2025-03-26 |work=CBS News |language=en-US}} Vie moved with Ulbricht to Austin after he received his master's degree, but she stated that his lack of interest in social activities while he was building Silk Road led to their breakup. In an effort to rekindle the relationship, she visited him in San Francisco shortly before his arrest.{{Cite news |last=Sommers |first=Caroline |date=November 10, 2020 |title=Ex-girlfriend of dark web mastermind Ross Ulbricht on dating a man wanted by the FBI |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ross-ulbricht-dread-pirate-roberts-silk-road-ex-girlfriend-fbi-declassified/ |access-date=2025-03-26 |work=CBS News |language=en-US}}

Ulbricht is married. Following his release from prison, he expressed gratitude to his mother and wife for their efforts in campaigning for his freedom.{{Cite web |last=Ulbricht |first=Ross |date=8 February 2025 |title=Instagram post |url=https://www.instagram.com/freerossulbricht/p/DF0rc-SSCnq/ |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=www.instagram.com}} Ulbricht identifies as a libertarian.{{Cite news |last=Dewey |first=Caitlin |date=October 3, 2013 |title=Everything we know about Ross Ulbricht, the outdoorsy libertarian behind Silk Road |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2013/10/03/everything-we-know-about-ross-ulbricht-the-outdoorsy-libertarian-behind-silk-road/ |newspaper=Washington Post}}{{Cite web |last=Gleiberman |first=Owen |date=February 19, 2021 |title='Silk Road' Review: Intriguing but Undercooked Drama About the Dark-Web Drug Site |url=https://variety.com/2021/film/reviews/silk-road-review-nick-robinson-jason-clarke-1234910979/ |website=Variety |quote=Ross Ulbricht, a 26-year-old libertarian gadfly from Austin, Tex., who convinced himself...}}

In popular culture

Deep Web, a 2015 documentary film chronicling events surrounding Silk Road, bitcoin, and the politics of the dark web, including Ulbricht's trial.

Silk Road—Drugs, Death and the Dark Web, a documentary covering the FBI operation to track down Ulbricht and close Silk Road. The documentary was shown on UK television in 2017 in the BBC Storyville documentary series.{{cite news |last1=Gibbings-Jones |first1=Mark |title=Monday's best TV: Storyville: Silk Road – Drugs, Death and the Dark Web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/reality-check/2017/aug/21/silk-road-documentary-streetmate |access-date=10 July 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=21 Aug 2017 |archive-date=July 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200711124746/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/reality-check/2017/aug/21/silk-road-documentary-streetmate |url-status=live }}

Silk Road, a 2021 American film directed by Tiller Russell. It follows Ulbricht's creation of the website and the FBI and DEA investigations. Ulbricht is portrayed by American actor Nick Robinson.{{cite web |last1=Dujsik |first1=Mark |title=Silk Road |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/silk-road-movie-review-2021 |website=rogerebert.com |access-date=18 October 2021 |archive-date=February 27, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227075344/https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/silk-road-movie-review-2021 |url-status=live }}