Alleged Silk Road mastermind indicted in NY
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Federal authorities shut down Silk Road, an underground marketplace responsible for distributing illegal drugs and other black market goods and services. (Department of Justice)
A San Francisco man was indicted on Tuesday on charges he was the mastermind behind a secret website that brokered more than $1 billion in transactions for illegal drugs and services.
The indictment unsealed in federal court in Manhattan charges Ross William Ulbricht with drug trafficking, computer hacking, money laundering and other counts.
A lawyer for Ulbricht, Joshua Dratel, said his client would plead not guilty at an arraignment scheduled for Friday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The indictment was expected and does not contain any new factual allegations," Dratel said in a statement. "We look forward to preparing Ross' defense."
Ulbricht, 29, was arrested late last year at a public library in San Francisco. Authorities say he operated the Silk Road site under the alias "Dread Pirate Roberts," an apparent reference to a character in the movie "The Princess Bride."
The website allowed users to anonymously browse through nearly 13,000 listings. Authorities say the categories included "Cannabis," `'Psychedelics" and "Stimulants." Purchases were made using the virtual currency Bitcoin.