Prosecutor: Online drug scheme earned San Francisco man $18 million
NEW YORK — A federal prosecutor in New York says a San Francisco man launched an underground website in 2011 to serve a global online network of drug dealers.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Howard told a jury in his opening statement Tuesday that Ross William Ulbricht enabled more than 1 million drug deals on his Silk Road site. He said the 30-year-old man operated like a traditional drug boss, trying to protect drug dealers who made up roughly 95 percent of the site's transactions. He said Ulbricht made about $18 million.
Ulbricht has pleaded not guilty.
Ulbricht disputes he operated online under the alias "Dread Pirate Roberts." That's a reference to a swashbuckling character in the book and movie "The Princess Bride."
He also is charged in Baltimore federal court in an attempted murder-for-hire scheme.
UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: