Posted on 02/09/2025 3:17:59 AM PST by dennisw
The founder of online drug marketplace Silk Road could claw back the $6.5billion worth of Bitcoin seized from the platform after being pardoned by Donald Trump and freed from a life sentence behind bars.
Ross Ulbricht, who was sentenced in 2015, could mount a legal challenge to reclaim the money in what pardon experts said would add 'insult to injury' for law enforcement, DailyMail.com can reveal.
Ulbricht's case would hinge on whether the money is in the custody of a court or whether it has been deposited with the Treasury.
If it is still under the jurisdiction of a court then he may have a case, said Samuel Morrison, a lawyer focused on clemency who spent 13 years in the Justice Department's Office of the Pardon Attorney.
Should Ulbricht go after the money, however, it could spark a protracted legal dispute that could drag on for years.
But with widespread support from the crypto industry and beyond, his efforts to reclaim the funds could become another cause célèbre, just like his imprisonment.
Ulbricht, 40, was released on January 22, just two days after Trump's inauguration, after serving nearly a decade in prison for his role in Silk Road, which was described as an Amazon-like website for illegal drugs.
Prosecutors claimed at least six people died as a result of taking drugs they bought on the site, which made Ulbricht $200million and used Bitcoin as its currency.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Ulbricht gets his 6 billion in Bitcoin back. Then to show his gratitude, he contributes one billion dollars to various Trump oriented PACs. Would you do this if you were Ulbricht?
He spent 10 years in prison and is out now.
I’m very puzzled as to why Trump pardoned this guy.
I mean, his sentence was grossly excessive in the grand scheme of things in my opinion but he was still selling illegal drugs that are illegal for good reason and he deserved to go to prison for a few years at least and his assets seized.
That bitcoin can go a long way towards treating fentanyl addicts and securing the border against further imports.
I do not think your assertion accurate. At all.
Did people sell drugs using his platform? Yes.
But did he sell drugs? I don’t think so.
People have sold drugs using Facebook and other platforms. Zuckerberg never went to prison.
This was a political prosecution.
He wasn’t selling them, as I understand the case. However, he was taking a slice of the action by charging a service fee for using his services.
Not going to happen, try as he may.
The SCOTUS has ruled that a “Pardon” is offered, the recipient must accept the pardon. Acceptance of a pardon admits “Guilt”
He did not sell drugs.
He created a marketplace.
Iirc.
You better believe he will hire the best lawyers. My bet is his libertarian peers who are wealthy, will help out on his legal bills. I am not judging him, while saying that Democrats and Deep State have proven. That with proper judge shopping in the right judicial venue, anything can happen. To get luck and 6 billion dollars Bitcoin spilling his/Ross Ulbricht's way. The right judge might split it down the middle. Judges love to do this! And perhaps Ulbricht gets 3 billion dollars of his Bitcoins. That in my book belong to him anyways. No matter what manner of scum he is.
Trump is making crypto very legitimate these days. Which also will helps Ulbricht's case. To retrieve his very early investor Bitcoin wealth.
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The U.S. government seized approximately 144,000 bitcoins from Ulbricht when he was arrested in 2013. At the time of seizure, these bitcoins were valued at around $28.5 million, with each bitcoin worth about $198. However, the government has since sold these bitcoins:
In 2014, the U.S. Marshals Service auctioned off 29,657 bitcoins for an estimated $18 million
The remaining bitcoins were sold for about $48 million, at an average price of $334 each.
That seems odd. He was not convicted until 2015 so how could they have auctioned before the court determined there was a crime.
“That seems odd. He was not convicted until 2015 so how could they have auctioned before the court determined there was a crime.”
This makes Ulbricht’s case even better. The Deep State prosecutors and judges unlawfully screwed this poor rich schmuck “Six Ways from Sunday” Now I am really hoping he wins, to get back his billions in Bitcoin.
The ruling is the ruling, accepting a pardon is admitting guilt, admitting guilt justifies seizure of assets.
Oh come on. He specifically set it up on Tor so that people could buy and sell drugs anonymously whilst evading the law.
He knew exactly what he was doing, it wasn’t just a case inadequate moderation failing to deal with illegal activity on the platform as with Facebook he was knowingly and wilfully administering a torsite designed to buy and sell illegal substances.
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