NEW YORK — A San Francisco man was swiftly convicted Wednesday of creating and operating an underground website that prosecutors said enabled drug dealers around the world to reach customers they would never find on the street.
Ross William Ulbricht was convicted of seven drug and conspiracy counts. The jury’s verdict in federal court in Manhattan came after little more than three hours of deliberations and one day after prosecutors urged jurors to follow Ulbricht’s “digital fingerprints.”
The government said drug dealing made up almost all of Silk Road’s sales during its nearly three years in business, which ended with Ulbricht’s October 2013 arrest. Prosecutors also discounted defense claims that Ulbricht was framed by others in a murky Internet world where nothing is what it seems.
Prosecutors said Ulbricht enabled more than 1 million drug deals on Silk Road and earned about $18 million in bitcoins. Sales of illegal drugs of every type were delivered through the website, representing at least $180 million in sales, they said.
Ulbricht had several supporters among the spectators. When the verdict was announced, his father dropped his head in his hands. Later, a male spectator shouted out, “Ross is a hero!” Another called out to him: “It’s not over Ross. We love you.” As Ulbricht was led out of court, he waved toward the spectator section.