The alleged operator of the notorious illegal-drug-peddling website Silk Road pleaded not guilty on Friday to charges that he brokered more than $1 billion in criminal transactions using the controversial cryptocurrency bitcoin.
Ross Ulbricht, 29, of San Francisco, has been in custody since being arrested by the feds in October, but it wasn’t until Tuesday that he was formally charged in a four-count indictment accusing him of drug trafficking, computer hacking, money laundering and continuing criminal enterprise.
Prosecutors during his Manhattan federal court arraignment Friday told Judge Katherine Forrest that Ulbricht – who allegedly used the workplace alias “Dread Pirate Roberts,” a reference to a character in the 1987 cult film “The Princess Bride” — could be slapped with additional criminal charges in the coming months.
Forrest set Ulbricht’s trial date for November 3.
Ulbricht appeared in good spirits at the arraignment, turning around several times to supporters sitting in court to smile and wave. Dressed in a blue prison jumpsuit, he stood up straight with his hands clasped behind his back while uttering “not guilty” as Forrest read him each count.
When asked about his client’s state of mind afterwards, Ulbricht’s lawyer Joshua Dratel, said Ulbricht is just trying to keep busy. Dratel added that Ulbricht is highly educated and that he “welcomes his perspective” in putting a defense together.
Forrest said she’d allow Ulbricht access to a computer while he remains in custody awaiting trial to review the government’s evidence against him.
Ulbricht earned at master’s degree in materials sciences at Penn State University, where he attended on scholarship.
The indictment alleges Ulbricht oversaw at least five others while running Silk Road from January 2011 to October 2013.
Since Ulbricht’s arrest, the feds have seized 173,991 Bitcoins through the probe that are currently valued at more than $128 million – including 144,336 found on Ulbricht’s computer hard drive.
These Bitcoins are assets the government claims were used to facilitate money laundering in support of a host of crimes, including six failed murder-for-hire plots and the sale of cocaine, heroin and other illicit drugs over the Internet.
Ulbricht – who says he is not the operator of Silk Road – has claimed ownership to the Bitcoins linked to his computer.