I've seen allot of bleeding hearts out there, the poor 31 year old Ross Ulbricht will spend the rest of his life behind bars, and oh how sad they are. They're making T-Shirts, running pictures of Mom (Ulbricht's), postering Ulbricht all over the Web in various innocent looking environments with a innocent but looking smile, even building website in honor of the trial, and taking up donations to help the guy out.
First of all, he doesn't need your help, he's got millions tucked away (officials estimated about 104MM). Secondly, we're he's going, money isn't exactly going to be his initial priority, in fact, cash is useless.
Mostly, please kindly SFTU already (Google it), and quit the whining, the "poor guy" comments, and the "Save the Clock Tower" fundraising initiatives. Seriously.
Yeah yeah, I know he broke down after the verdict was read. Who wouldn't? He just found out he is about to go to hell early. Or at least it's bastard step-child in the form of a federal penitentiary.
Folks, this Saint facilitated harmful, dangerous, and even fatal, criminal activity, between children, the elderly, the formerly innocent, and the hardened criminal to the tunes of millions upon millions of dollars, of which a nice juicy percentage went into his pocket, and may well have even gotten some people killed. He did this and then laughed all the way to the bank with millions of dollars, and yet some folks are throwing money his way, shedding tears on his behalf, and building monuments to glorify what was a greedy little guy looking to get rich quick at the expense of harming other people.
Fuck him. Let him rot in jail.
I deal with criminals and scammers all day long, and frankly, it's annoying, it causes a pile of extra paperwork, and like many other companies, we have to budget an expected loss to scammers.
The team here at dinbits.com spends copious amounts of time uncovering scams sites, confirming criminal activity, and reporting suspicious activity to authorities, which comes with another pile of annoying paperwork.
Meanwhile, this guy is soaking in the very stolen bitcoins for transactions that allot of the scams fund. So you're not going to see a single tear shed here, and this guy isn't getting any sympathy from this outlet.
This does not mean that I fail to recognizable that this particular Judge was out to make a point, her sentence even exceeded that of which the prosecution's asked for, and the maximum allowed by law. If that fair? I do not know, nor do I have all of the facts before me to offer an educated opinion on the matter, but based on what I have learned, it could be called an excessive sentence, and it's one that is likely going to be revisited.
The Right Decision
Ross Ulbricht is an idiot, but he's not without half of a brain, he's a physics major, a college graduate, and technically able.
He knew exactly what he was doing.
He knew exactly what laws he was breaking.
He knew exactly what the risks were.
Yet, he chose to take this journey, and he did it because he thought he wasn't going to get caught, and if he did, the millions stored for a rainy day would by him out of the mess he is currently in. Well guess what? He did and he couldn't.
He played with fire, and got burned. He's even admitted he knew what he was doing was wrong, he got caught, and now he's gonna pay. Likely not full price.
Life In Prison?
Unlikely.
Yes, I am aware of what the verdict and sentence was, but his attorney also has a very good case for appeal that I would bet he gets. The Judge hindered the defense, would not allow cross examination of witnesses, or evidence to be presented on several key issues that may have led to a lesser sentence.
Yes, I am aware of what the verdict and sentence was, but his attorney also has a very good case for appeal that I would bet he gets. The Judge hindered the defense, would not allow cross examination of witnesses, or evidence to be presented on several key issues that may have led to a lesser sentence.
He'll be back, but not without battle scars, and not without a severe punishment, and not without deserving it. He did the crime.
So did allot of other folks, and they went down with the ship as well.
Mr. Ulbricht most likely will not die in prison, and 104 million buys allot of defense power (although the first go around would have been recommended). The court was out to make a point, even if it doesn't stick forever, and they've made it.
Paying The Price
Now, I am certainly with the rest of us, I do not like big brother over my shoulder either, and law enforcement can kindly mind their own business if they are interested in my daily purchases, what I do with my money, or where I do it. It's simply none of their business.
However, when people start getting killed, FBI agents arrested, millions stolen, lives destroyed and all the other things that went badly due to Silk Road's existence. Official are going to put an end to it. Forcefully, and without leniency.
That is exactly what they did.
The moral of the story is this. Bitcoin is getting press due to the nature of the websites payment system, but the crimes Silk Road facilitated have been around for decades, Bitcoin did not create them, and when you facilitate and contribute to major offenses such as money laundering, the financing of terrorism, drugs, and other related criminal activity, then you best prepare to face the consequences when you get caught, and prepare for the worst, cause at best, it's going to be severely bad.
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