---
layout: static-informational
title: Ross Ulbricht (Dread Pirate Roberts)
blurb: "Founder of the Silk Road dark net market, \"The Princess Bride\" fan, Currently serving life in prison"
permalink: /people/ross-ulbricht
people-groups: [cryptocurrency, later-cypherpunk]
---

From wikipedia:

> Ross William Ulbricht (born March 27, 1984) is a former darknet market operator, best known for being convicted of creating and running the Silk Road website until his arrest. He was known under the pseudonym "Dread Pirate Roberts".

> Ulbricht was convicted of money laundering, computer hacking, conspiracy to traffic fraudulent identity documents, and conspiracy to traffic narcotics in February 2015. He is currently serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the conviction and sentence in 2017.

## Links

* [The Rise and Fall of the Silk Road's page on this site](/events/the-silk-road)
* [Ross Ulbricht on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Ulbricht)
* [Silk Road (marketplace) on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Road_%28marketplace%29)
* [@Free_Ross on Twitter](https://twitter.com/Free_Ross) (Run by his mother, Lynn Ulbricht)
* [FreeRoss.org](https://freeross.org/)
* 2013 - [Ulbricht's Personal Log](https://www.scribd.com/doc/253551316/Ulbricht-Log?irgwc=1&content=10079&campaign=Skimbit%2C%20Ltd.&ad_group=100099X1555751X9bb4eedb81181aefb804c38fcbc35078&keyword=ft750noi&source=impactradius&medium=affiliate)
* 29-Apr-2013 Forbes Magazine - [Collected Quotations Of The Dread Pirate Roberts, Founder Of Underground Drug Site Silk Road And Radical Libertarian](https://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/04/29/collected-quotations-of-the-dread-pirate-roberts-founder-of-the-drug-site-silk-road-and-radical-libertarian/#2b73bc381b0c) by Andy Greenberg
* 30-Mar-2015 Wired Magazine - [DEA Agent Charged With Acting as a Paid Mole for Silk Road](https://www.wired.com/2015/03/dea-agent-charged-acting-paid-mole-silk-road/) by Andy Greenberg
* April 2015 Wired Magazine - [The Untold Story of Silk Road, Part 1 - The Rise of Silk Road](https://www.wired.com/2015/04/silk-road-1/) by Joshuah Bearman
* May 2015 Wired Magazine - [The Untold Story of Silk Road, Part 2 - The Fall](https://www.wired.com/2015/04/silk-road-1/) by Joshuah Bearman
* 08-Aug-2015 Free Ross on Youtube - [Cody Wilson: "Ross Ulbricht is paying for being ethical" #FreeRoss"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEKswztcEng) with [Cody Wilson](/people/cody-wilson)
* 12-Jan-2016 Wired Magazine - [In Silk Road Appeal, Ross Ulbricht's Defense Focuses on Corrupt Feds](https://www.wired.com/2016/01/ross-ulbrichts-defense-focuses-on-corrupt-feds-in-silk-road-appeal/) by Andy Greenberg
* 29-Nov-2016 Wired Magazine - [Ross Ulbricht's Lawyers Say They've Found Another Corrupt Agent in Silk Road Case](https://www.wired.com/2016/11/ross-ulbrichts-lawyers-point-another-corrupt-agent-silk-road-case/) by Andy Greenberg
* 09-May-2017 The Crypto Show on Youtube - [Lyn Ulbricht & Cody Wilson on American Kingpin a hit piece littered with lies](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odFGizWeQ5s) with [Cody Wilson](/people/cody-wilson)
* 31-May-2017 Wired Magazine - [Silk Road Creator Ross Ulbricht Loses His Life Sentence Appeal](https://www.wired.com/2017/05/silk-road-creator-ross-ulbricht-loses-life-sentence-appeal/) by Andy Greenberg