Ross Ulbricht, a key person behind the Silk Road website, today was found guilty on 7 charges.
Ross Ulbricht was found guilty of conspiring to sell narcotics and money laundering. The last session of the trial lasted less than 4 hours. Ulbricht was found guilty in 7 charges including here money laundering, drug traffic, computer hacking.
Father and mother of 30-year defendant were present in court room. After the verdict, Ulbricht turned around to give his family a stoic smile.
“This is not the end,” Ulbricht’s mother said loudly.
Summarizing the case, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara declared:
During the trial, the defense made attempts to deflect the charges away from Ulbricht and to Mark Karpeles, hinting at the latter's possible involvement in the case under the nickname of Dread Pirate Roberts. Ulbricht's lawyer Joshua Dratel claimed that they had the name of the “real DPR” who took over the website after Ulbricht created it in 2011 and controlled it until its closure by the authorities in November 2014.
The case became a rallying point for many bitcoin enthusiasts.The website freeross.org proclaimed: “Our goal – To protect individual freedom and privacy; To provide Ross with what every American citizen is promised: a fair trial;To have Ross acquitted of all charges.”
Still, it proved difficult to achieve the acquittal of Ross Ulbricht because prosecutors presented large amounts of evidence showing that Ross Ulbricht was indeed the person behind Dread Pirate Roberts, the mysterious leader of the Silk Road. Data from his laptop allowed the authorities to trace his transactions; personal diaries were discovered, in which Ross recorded his thoughts about what was going on.
The prosecutor characterized the evidence as “overwhelming”. Ross was proclaimed guilty of conspiracy related to drugs and money laundering, and running a criminal enterprise.
