Silk Road website mastermind faces lengthy jail term

The American convicted of masterminding criminal website Silk Road, which sold $200 million worth of drugs to customers all over the world using digital currency Bitcoin, will be jailed Friday.

Ross Ulbricht, a Texan-born Californian, was found guilty in February by a New York jury on seven counts of narcotics trafficking, criminal enterprise, computer hacking and money laundering.

The highly educated 31-year-old, whose devoted parents have followed every twist and turn in the case, faces a minimum sentence of 20 years. But the government is pushing for a much tougher penalty.

His trial was considered a landmark case in the murky world of online crime and government surveillance, and his sentencing by Federal Judge Katherine Forrest will be closely watched.

In March it emerged that two undercover FBI agents extorted and stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in virtual currency Bitcoin during their 2013 investigation against Ulbricht.

Ulbricht last week wrote to Forrest, equating his maximum possible sentence of life imprisonment with the death penalty, and begging to live out his old age in freedom.

- 'Terrible mistake' -

"Even now I understand what a terrible mistake I made," he said.

"Please leave a small light at the end of the tunnel, an excuse to stay healthy, an excuse to dream of better days ahead, and a chance to redeem myself in the free world before I meet my maker."
Prosecutors say Ulbricht set up a massive narcotics-trafficking enterprise that resulted in at least six drug-related deaths and amassed him millions of dollars in commissions.

"At no point has he acknowledged full responsibility or shown true remorse for his actions," Manhattan attorney Preet Bharara wrote to Forrest on Tuesday.

Defense lawyer Joshua Dratel argued during the trial that someone else was behind online alias "Dread Pirate Roberts" that operated Silk Road, but the jury took just hours to conclude otherwise.

The government brought overwhelming evidence against Ulbricht, who was arrested red-handed, with a laptop in a San Francisco library by FBI agents in October 2013.

The government said 95 percent of the products on Silk Road were drugs, with the rest fake IDs, hacking tools and hacking services.

It said Ulbricht made buying heroin, cocaine and crystal meth as easy as online shopping from eBay and Amazon.

A second version of Silk Road sprung up just weeks after the FBI shut down the first and arrested Ulbricht. It was also shut down and alleged operator Blake Benthall was charged last November.

Ulbricht told Forrest he had never advocated the abuse of drugs or sought to create a website that would feed people's addictions.

He spoke about the difficulty of being separated from his family and loved ones, and "the grief it has caused them."

"I ruined my life and destroyed my future. I squandered the enviable upbringing my family provided me, all of the opportunities I have been given, and the ones I have earned, and my talents," he said.