He created (not alone) and managed the Silk Road platform, like an eBay, where individuals could buy and sell things; but often used to sell illegal substances, using anonymous names, addresses and payment methods like crypto.
I don’t think he deserved two life sentences and am not sure how involved he was in illicit trafficking beyond simply being one of the people who created and managed the platform.
Though he ended up making (and losing control of) billions off it from bitcoin payments, no?