Silk Road founder appeals conviction, life sentence
Supporters of Ross Ulbricht in front of a Manhattan federal courthouse last month.
Ross William Ulbricht, the San Francisco man who ran an underground website that allowed drug dealers to sell their goods online, has filed to appeal his conviction and life sentence.
Ulbricht, who was known to federal agents by his online alias “Dread Pirate Roberts,” was convicted by a Manhattan jury in February for allowing more than $180 million in drug deals to take place on Silk Road, an online black market that was replete with narcotics sales.
A week ago, a judge ruled that the 31-year-old would spend the rest of his life in federal prison.
Ulbricht filed his appeal Thursday with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Ulbricht’s attorneys have long argued that he was framed by other Web-based dealers who were able to conceal their identities.
Although Ulbricht’s attorney has claimed his client quit the website once it was overrun by drug dealers, federal prosecutors have also accused Ulbricht of plotting the deaths of at least five people he saw as threats to Silk Road. Ulbricht is awaiting a murder-for-hire trial in Baltimore.
Follow Andrea Chang on Twitter.
