Silk Road mastermind and former Penn State student Ross Ulbricht was convicted of drug conspiracy on Wednesday for founding and running the web’s most well-known drug-trafficking black market.

Silk Road was an illegal online drug bazaar, which ran from February 2011 till October 2013 and was operated within the deep web, which is not accessible via the standard web browser. The site allowed thousands of drug dealers to sell their contraband wares anonymously. Silk Road’s business took off after Gawker published an article about the site, and it was finally infiltrated by the FBI two years ago.

Ulbricht, otherwise known as “Dread Pirate Roberts,” was arrested on Oct. 2, 2013 in San Francisco. Allegedly, Ulbricht revealed his identity when he used his real name on the site Stack Overflow, which led the FBI to figure out who he was. His seven charges included narcotics trafficking, money laundering, and computer hacking.

The decision to convict Ulbricht came after a three-week trial in downtown Manhattan. The jury’s deliberations lasted only three and a half hours, and they found Ulbricht guilty of all seven charges. Ulbricht faces a minimum of 30 years in prison, with a maximum sentence of life.

Ulbricht is more than a convicted criminal; he’s also a Penn Stater. He was a graduate research assistant in Penn State’s School of Materials Science and Engineering from 2006 to 2008. Ulbricht finished work for a Master’s of Science in 2010, and left the university that year.

Photo: Ross Ulbricht/YouTube

About the Author

Anna Foley

Anna is a senior majoring in Communication Arts & Sciences and Spanish with a minor in Theatre. Yes, she went to Spain. Follow her half-funny thoughts @exfoleyator and send her chain emails at anna.foley@onwardstate.com.

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