He had received a life sentence: Trump pardons Ulbricht, founder of the illegal trade network on the Dark Web
On his first day in office, U.S. President Donald Trump, who issued pardons for about 1,600 inmates convicted in the January 6 Capitol riot, has also issued a pardon for Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the illegal trade network on the Dark Web.
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Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, an e-commerce platform where illegal goods were sold using Bitcoin, has been pardoned by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Having taken over the presidency from Joe Biden in the U.S., Donald Trump continues to make notable decisions. Trump announced that he has pardoned Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, an e-commerce platform on the Dark Web where illegal products such as drugs were sold using Bitcoin.
In a statement on his social media account, the U.S. President noted the following:
'I called the mother of Ross William Ulbricht and told her that I am happy to sign a full and unconditional pardon for her son. The scum who worked to convict him were the same people who played a role in the weaponization of government against me in the modern era, some of them mentally ill. Ross was given 2 life sentences, plus 40 years. This is unthinkable.'
During his election campaign, Donald Trump had promised to set free 40-year-old Ross Ulbricht, who was detained in 2013 and sentenced to life in prison in 2015.
Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht
HE HAD BEEN FOUND GUILTY OF MONEY LAUNDERING
In the court held in Manhattan, the jury found Ulbricht guilty and ruled that he should be sentenced for drug trafficking, computer hacking, and money laundering over the internet.
Prosecutors stated that 214 million worth of drugs and other illegal products were traded over 2 years through the platform, which they described as a 'global black market.' It was alleged that there were loss of lives due to drugs purchased from the platform, which was used by at least 100 thousand people.
THEY WERE HIDING THEIR IDENTITIES WITH BITCOIN
The fact that users made payments with Bitcoin on Silk Road helped them hide their identities.
Ulbricht, who used the pseudonym "Dread Pirate Roberts" at the time, was accused of soliciting the murder of several people who posed a threat to the platform, but no evidence was found that any murder had been committed.
In the court where he was brought, Ulbricht admitted to founding Silk Road, which he described as a "free market site," but stated that he later handed the website over to others.
The Silk Road platform contributed to the fame of cryptocurrency by using Bitcoin as a payment instrument.
U.S. President Donald Trump