Ross Ulbricht the founder of the darknet market website silk road who was given two life sentences plus 40 years has been pardoned fully by president Donald Trump.
The website was known for its illegal drug marketplace, among other illegal and legal product listings, however Trump on resumption of office called the convict mother saying he has signed “full and unconditional pardon” for her son,
Posting on his social media platform Truth Social on Tuesday, he slammed Ulbriicht’s prosecutor: “The scum that worked to convict him were some of the same lunatics who were involved in the modern day weaponisation of government against me.
“He was given two life sentences, plus 40 years. Ridiculous!” he raged out
The site was in operation between February 2011 and July 2013, facilitated sales amounting to 9,519,664 Bitcoins and was shut down by FBI in October 2013.
US prosecutors alleged that the site had been used to facilitate more than 1.5 million transactions worth approximately $213m, including more than $183m in drug sales.
Sentencing Ulbricht, US District Judge Katherine Forrest said that the California man’s actions had been his “carefully planned life’s work” and that he was “no better a person than any other drug dealer”.
However the darknet Silk road founder case was criticized by libertarians and cryptocurrency enthusiasts, who argued that he was unfairly prosecuted since he had not sold illegal goods himself and was being held responsible for the transactions of people who used the site.
In May, President Trump told the national convention of the Libertarian Party, a fringe party that has no representation in the US Congress, that he would commute Ulbricht’s sentence on “day one” of his administration if elected.
After Trump’s election in November, Ulbricht expressed gratitude to those voting for the Republican on his behalf.
“I trust him to honor his pledge and give me a second chance. After 11+ years in darkness, I can finally see the light of freedom at the end of the tunnel,” he said in a post on X.
Elon Musk, a strong supporter and an ally of the U.S president expressed pride in being at the oval office when Ulbricht pardon was signed and call made across to his mother, he had replied a post affirming the presidential pardon: “I was honored to be in the Oval Office tonight when @POTUS signed this.”
Musk further revealed when he replied yet another post that he had asked President Trump if it’s possible to pardon Roger Keith Ver: “That’s up to the President, but I have asked whether this is possible”
Ver known as “Bitcoin Jesus” was in April 2024 indicted with mail fraud, tax evasion and filing false tax returns.
“I always knew I’d be a political target for the IRS and law enforcement after I expatriated,” Ver said in an exclusive statement to FOX Business. “That’s why I made sure to hire the most reputable attorneys and accountants and gave them clear instructions to file everything perfectly — so there’d be no issues when the inevitable audit came. But of course, the IRS still found a way to make it a problem anyhow.”
Ver is an American entrepreneur who briefly ran for California State Assembly in 2000 as a libertarian. His nickname “Bitcoin Jesus” is the result of his early investment in and promotion of the world’s largest digital asset, dating back to 2011 when he would give away free bitcoin as it was trading between $0.31 to $31 per coin.
By: Adeoye Olorunseun Elizabeth
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