All Non-violent Trial Charges and Convictions

On May 29, 2015, Ross Ulbricht, a first-time offender, was sentenced to double life plus 40 years without parole for all non-violent convictions.[1] He was never prosecuted for causing harm or bodily injury. No victim was named at trial.

Ross was not condemned to die in prison for actually selling drugs, hacking software and fake IDs, or for laundering money himself. Rather, he was held responsible for what Silk Road users listed on the platform (despite established laws protecting providers from liability for their users’ content).

Ross was convicted of seven nonviolent charges and sentenced on five of those (two charges were vacated by the judge as lesser included offenses). Below are the five counts Ross was sentenced for:

Metropolitan Detention Center,
Brooklyn, June 2014

– Aiding and Abetting Distribution of Narcotics by Means of the Internet

Range: 10 years to life. Ross sentenced to life without parole.

Note: The prosecution charged that Ross “delivered, distributed, and dispensed” 1kg or more of heroin, 5kg or more of cocaine, 500g or more of meth and 10g or more of LSD, yet, no evidence was presented to support this, only that others did so through Silk Road.

– Continuing Criminal Enterprise

20 years to life. Ross sentenced to life without parole.

Note: This charge was added by the prosecutors when Ross chose to go to trial.

– Conspiracy to Aid and Abet Computer Hacking

0 to 5 years. Ross sentenced to 5 years.

Note: It was not alleged that Ross hacked computers but rather that others listed multi-use software for sale that could be used for hacking. No computers are known to have been hacked with software sold through Silk Road.

– Conspiracy to Traffic in Fraudulent IDs

0 to 15 years. Ross sentenced to 15 years.

Note: It was not alleged that Ross sold fake IDs but rather that others did so through Silk Road.

– Conspiracy to Launder Money

0 to 20 years. Ross was sentenced to 20 years.

Note: It was not alleged that Ross laundered money but rather that others listed cash, gold and other currency for sale on Silk Road, allowing users to cash out their bitcoins.

Ross looking at his parents during sentencing.
Illustration: Elizabeth Williams

All Ross Ulbricht’s trial charges and convictions were non-violent. A separate, untouched indictment in Maryland included an unproven, false allegation of planning murder-for-hire, yet it was never prosecuted and later dismissed “with prejudice” by the District of Maryland.

References