A court filing from last month states that Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht is forfeiting 69,370 Bitcoin, Bitcoin Gold, Bitcoin Cash, and Bitcoin SV. Combined, the assets equate to over $3 billion. The report also states the address that the funds originated from.
In 2020, the Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies were seized from a Silk Road user who went by the name of “Individual X”. The user stole the funds from Silk Road a few years prior but Ulbricht has decided to forfeit all of the assets over to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). This move will allow all of Ulbricht’s debt to be cleared with the DOJ once the assets are auctioned off.
The report states that all “parties agree that the net proceeds realized from the sale of subject property forfeited pursuant to this agreement shall be credited toward any unpaid balance of the money judgment.”
Ulbricht founded the Silk Road in 2011 as a marketplace to buy, sell, and exchange goods or services while transactions were made in Bitcoin. Some of these goods and services included illegal substances and activities. In 2013, Ulbricht was found guilty on seven charges that include: conspiracy to launder money, conspiracy to commit computer hacking, conspiracy to traffic narcotics by using the internet, and operating a criminal enterprise.
During the operation of Silk Road, Ulbricht went by the name of the “Dread Pirate Roberts” and was sentenced to life in prison for creating and operating the illegal marketplace.
His mother, Lyn Ulbricht stated that she and the family are relieved that the financial penalty has been reversed as other charges have been in the past. This includes Ross Ulbricht’s murder-for-hire charge that was dropped after he was sentenced for life in prison.
“This is just another reminder that the case against Ross has always been misrepresented and weak, and we look forward to the day when Ross' unjust sentence is corrected and he returns to the free world where he can contribute to society,” she says.