Faking Murders And Stealing Bitcoin: Why The Silk Road Is The Strangest Crime Story Of The Decade

Illustration of Day 1 of the Ross Ulbricht trial. (Illustration by Susie Cagle)

To his family, he was former Eagle Scout Ross Ulbricht. To his housemates, he was Joshua Terrey. To the U.S. government, hes The Dread Pirate Roberts the criminal mastermind who created and operated the billion dollar black market website Silk Road. His trial began on January 13.

The prosecutions story of an exceptionally bright and smart kid who grew up to become the criminal head of a global black market is in itself interesting enough to provide Hollywood with a half a dozen movies. But even if the government proves these allegations, this character arc would actually be one of the more normal and mundane things about this story.

Here are a few of the bizarre twists and turns in the investigation of The Dread Pirate Roberts, Silk Road, and Ross Ulbricht:

An Undercover Agent Basically Worked The Helpdesk For Silk Road

Illustration by Susie Cagle

In July of 2013, Jared Der-Yeghiayan, a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations, took over the account of a Silk Road moderator under the alias cirrus. By the time of Ulbrichts capture, Der-Yeghiayan had been undercover for about two months.

During his time undercover, Der-Yeghiayans worked for 10 to 12 hours each day, and was paid about one thousand dollars in bitcoin from DPRs Silk Road account every week.

Essentially, he was a helpdesk worker for an online black market. But it was his contact with Dread Pirate Roberts that led to a sting operation to arrest Ulbricht. The Federal Government Faked A Hit Ordered By The Dread Pirate Roberts

Curtis Clark Green, a semi-pro poker player in his late 40s, had a second job that his family knew nothing about he was an administrator for Silk Road who was known for frequently shared personal anecdotes and detailed advice on using and dealing illegal substances.

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Faking Murders And Stealing Bitcoin: Why The Silk Road Is The Strangest Crime Story Of The Decade