Ross Ulbricht, a New York resident who goes by the online moniker "Dread Pirate Roberts," was indicted Wednesday for operating the drug Web site Silk Road after federal authorities shut it down. October 2, 2013 9:29 AM PDT (Credit: Brian Krebs) After years of surveying the site and even purchasing a number of illegal substances itself, the FBI has finally succeeded in closing the Silk Road, the online drug marketplace by which anonymous buyers using the secure Tor browser could purchase and sell drugs with Bitcoin. The site is now replaced with an FBI seizure notice. Ross Ulbricht, owner and operator of the Silk Road under the infamous online handle "Dread Pirate Roberts," has been indicted in New York after allegedly being arrested in San Francisco. He faces charges of computer hacking conspiracy, narcotics trafficking conspiracy, and money laundering. Journalist Brian Krebs received a copy of the complaint against Ulbricht, which outlines the FBI's data on the site and the tactics it used to find its owner. Between February of 2011 and July of this year, Silk Road's 957,079 users generated $1.2 billion worth of transactions, earning Ulbricht earned nearly $80 million, the FBI says. Those numbers are pegged to current Bitcoin rates however, meaning the actual dollar amounts may have fluctuated with the crypto-currency's volatility this last year. In its investigation, the FBI, led by agent Christopher Tarbell of the cybercrime division in New York, made more than 100 purchases on the drug marketplace. The agency had the drugs sent to New York for analysis, reports The Verge. "Samples of these purchases have been laboratory-tested, and have typically shown high purity levels of the drug the item was advertised to be on Silk Road," Tarbell says. This story is developing. Check back soon for updates.
Ross Ulbricht, a New York resident who goes by the online moniker "Dread Pirate Roberts," was indicted Wednesday for operating the drug Web site Silk Road after federal authorities shut it down.
After years of surveying the site and even purchasing a number of illegal substances itself, the FBI has finally succeeded in closing the Silk Road, the online drug marketplace by which anonymous buyers using the secure Tor browser could purchase and sell drugs with Bitcoin. The site is now replaced with an FBI seizure notice.
Ross Ulbricht, owner and operator of the Silk Road under the infamous online handle "Dread Pirate Roberts," has been indicted in New York after allegedly being arrested in San Francisco. He faces charges of computer hacking conspiracy, narcotics trafficking conspiracy, and money laundering. Journalist Brian Krebs received a copy of the complaint against Ulbricht, which outlines the FBI's data on the site and the tactics it used to find its owner.
Between February of 2011 and July of this year, Silk Road's 957,079 users generated $1.2 billion worth of transactions, earning Ulbricht earned nearly $80 million, the FBI says. Those numbers are pegged to current Bitcoin rates however, meaning the actual dollar amounts may have fluctuated with the crypto-currency's volatility this last year.
In its investigation, the FBI, led by agent Christopher Tarbell of the cybercrime division in New York, made more than 100 purchases on the drug marketplace. The agency had the drugs sent to New York for analysis, reports The Verge. "Samples of these purchases have been laboratory-tested, and have typically shown high purity levels of the drug the item was advertised to be on Silk Road," Tarbell says.
This story is developing. Check back soon for updates.
