Judge comes down hard on Ross Ulbricht, appeal will follow

May 30, 2015 20:50 GMT  ·  By

Ross Ulbricht, the mastermind behind Silk Road, an online black market used for selling illegal drugs, has been sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty in all seven chargers for which he was indicted.

Besides the prison sentence, the judge also ordered for $184 / €164 million of Mr. Ulbricht estate to be seized. It was estimated that Ross Ulbricht made $187 / €171 million while running Silk Road.

A quick history of Silk Road and its beginnings

If you're not familiar with the whole Silk Road affair, it all started in February 2011 when the website was founded, being run anonymously over the TOR network.

Six months later, the Gawker website ran a piece on it which brought its activities to light and indirectly doomed it. Authorities got on the case and in 2013 the marketplace was shut down, and Ross Ulbricht arrested in San Francisco.

The trial began in mid-January 2015 in New York, and by the start of February 2015 a jury convicted Silk Road's owner on all seven charges brought to him: distributing or aiding and abetting the distribution of narcotics, distributing narcotics or aiding and abetting distribution over the Internet, conspiracy to violate narcotics laws, conspiracy to run a criminal enterprise, money laundering, computer hacking, and distributing false identification.

What's next for Ross Ulbricht

During the trial, Silk Road's founder refused to testify but showed public remorse via a letter he wrote to the judge, and also before the sentence was read after parents of overdosed victims spoke to the judge.

This was, however, too late and did not sway the ruling in any way, Ross Ulbricht receiving the maximum punishment he could have got. When the trial began, he faced between 20 years and life in prison.

Today's sentencing comes to complete the verdict passed down in February, and Mr. Ulbricht and his lawyers can now file an appeal.