Man charged with operating drug website tells NY court he wants bitcoin fortune returned
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An Internet entrepreneur accused of being behind an online marketplace for illegal drugs has asked the government to return more than $30 million in bitcoin seized from his computers.
Ross Ulbricht, of San Francisco, was arrested in October following a crackdown on the black market website Silk Road.
Federal prosecutors in New York say Ulbricht went by the online handle the Dread Pirate Roberts and turned the underground site into a place where anonymous users could buy or sell contraband and illegal services.
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In court filings, prosecutors say they seized 144,336 bitcoins from Ulbricht's computers.
Though subject to fluctuations in value, the virtual currency is exceedingly valuable, but lightly regulated.
Ulbricht says in a legal filing that the currency should be returned because it isn't subject to civil forfeiture rules.