Online, he went by the name “Dread Pirate Roberts” and ran what authorities called “the most sophisticated and extensive criminal marketplace on the Internet today.”
But his real name, according to an FBI criminal complaint released Wednesday, was Ross William Ulbricht. And despite allegedly operating a sprawling black market bazaar that earned $1.2 billion in sales, the 29-year-old lived a humble lifestyle, paying $1,000 a month for a room in a San Francisco apartment he shared with two roommates.
On Wednesday, the FBI said they had arrested Ulbricht and shut down his website, Silk Road, which had become a booming marketplace for illegal drugs, computer hacking tools and other illicit goods and services.
Ulbricht had been operating the site since January 2011 under the online nickname “Dread Pirate Roberts,” an apparent reference to a fictional character from “The Princess Bride” book and movie, according to the FBI.
Here’s The Seemingly Ordinary Man Who Allegedly Ran The Internet’s Biggest Black Market
October 4, 2013
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FBI Shuts Down The ‘Silk Road’ Black Market, Arrests Infamous Owner ‘Dread Pirate Roberts’
October 4, 2013
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Federal authorities said Wednesday they had seized a website that was considered one of the most popular places on the Internet for buying drugs and other illicit goods and services.
In a criminal complaint, the FBI said they had charged Ross William Ulbricht, also known as “Dread Pirate Roberts,” with operating the site, “Silk Road,” since January 2011.
Authorities said the Silk Road provided an online platform for drug dealers around the world to anonymously sell narcotics — including heroin, LSD and cocaine. The Silk Road was also a “sprawling black market bazaar” for buying and selling other illegal activities, including malicious software used for computer hacking, authorities said.
The Silk Road has long been in the crosshairs of authorities. In 2011, Sen. Charles Schumer called the site “a certifiable one-stop shop for illegal drugs that represents the most brazen attempt to peddle drugs online that we have ever seen. It’s more brazen than anything else by lightyears.”

