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Ross William Ulbricht

Also known as: Dread Pirate Roberts, DPR

Arrested, Charged, Convicted, Sentenced, Released

Public record reviewed to August 20, 2026

Index entry last updated August 21, 2026

Founder and sole controlling administrator of Silk Road.

A conviction or guilty plea is recorded in this entry.

  • Founder and operator of Silk Road.
  • Pardoned by President Trump on 2025-01-21.

Everything on this page comes from cited public sources.

This entry records 5 actions across 1 takedown, each traced to a cited source. Every linked takedown sits in the verified core of this index. Where the record is silent, this page says so rather than filling the gap.

Legal summary

Associated takedowns
Silk Road seizure
Recorded role
Founder and sole controlling administrator of Silk Road
Group segment
Core operator
Charging authority
United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York
Charging jurisdiction
United States
Case number
Not published
Latest recorded action
Released, January 2025
Nationality
United States
Country of residence
United States
Recorded sentence
Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole plus 40 years

Charges

Counts named in the public charging documents for this person, with the authority that brought them.

A charge is an accusation. No count on this page has been tested at trial by the fact of appearing here.

4 counts named in the public record

Charge Charging authority Case number Status
Narcotics trafficking conspiracy United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York Not published Charged, October 2013
Continuing criminal enterprise United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York Not published Charged, October 2013
Computer hacking conspiracy United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York Not published Charged, October 2013
Money laundering conspiracy United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York Not published Charged, October 2013

Counts are listed as they appear in the charging document. Where an authority confirmed a charge but published no docket, the case number reads not published rather than being left blank. This dataset carries no statute citations, so no statute column is shown.