--- description: Ross Ulbricht, convicted ringleader of the drug trafficking website Silk Road, is appealing his conviction and lifetime sentence. title: The Silk Road Mastermind Appealed His Life Sentence image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltefea0078465e9ae0/6988533be20a8738f2a8bb42/gettyimages-461481376.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Silk Road Mastermind Appealed His Life Sentence by [Christopher Matthews / Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## Christopher Matthews / Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 5, 2015 4:22 PM CUT  Max Dickstein stands with other upporters of Ross Ulbricht, the alleged creator and operator of the Silk Road underground market, in front of a Manhattan federal court house on the first day of jury selection for his trial on January 13, 2015 in New York City. Max Dickstein stands with other upporters of Ross Ulbricht, the alleged creator and operator of the Silk Road underground market, in front of a Manhattan federal court house on the first day of jury selection for his trial on January 13, 2015 in New York City.Spencer Platt—Getty Images by [Christopher Matthews / Fortune](/author/fortune/) ## Christopher Matthews / Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 5, 2015 4:22 PM CUT Ross Ulbricht, convicted ringleader of the drug trafficking website Silk Road, is appealing his conviction and lifetime sentence. [The appeal](http://www.scribd.com/doc/267770693/Ross-Ulbricht-s-Notice-of-Appeal "undefined") was submitted to the United States District Court in Southern New York on Monday, Motherboard [reports](http://motherboard.vice.com/read/ross-ulbricht-just-appealed-his-life-sentence "undefined"). Ulbricht was convicted by a Manhattan federal jury in February on all seven counts, which included narcotics and money laundering conspiracies. He was sentenced to life in prison last month, though federal guidelines stated he could have served as few as twenty years. Ulbricht’s sentencing has sparked protests from proponents of Internet freedom, Vice [notes](http://motherboard.vice.com/read/ross-ulbricht-just-appealed-his-life-sentence?utm%5Fsource=mbtwitter "undefined"), including movie star Russell Brand, [who argued](http://motherboard.vice.com/en%5Fca/read/russell-brand-calls-silk-road-kingpin-ross-ulbricht-the-american-dream-in-rant "undefined") that Ulbricht was merely achieving the “American Dream.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3910983/silk-road-appeal/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3910983/silk-road-appeal/"},"headline":"The Silk Road Mastermind Appealed His Life Sentence","datePublished":"2015-06-05T16:22:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:05:39.214Z","description":"Ross Ulbricht has been sentenced to life in prison","url":"https://time.com/3910983/silk-road-appeal/","keywords":["Tech","Bitcoin","Silk Road","Drugs","legal","Appeal","pubdesk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltefea0078465e9ae0/6988533be20a8738f2a8bb42/gettyimages-461481376.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Christopher Matthews / Fortune"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltefea0078465e9ae0/6988533be20a8738f2a8bb42/gettyimages-461481376.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Trial Of Online Drug Marketplace Silk Road Founder Ross Ulbricht Begins","caption":"Trial Of Online Drug Marketplace Silk Road Founder Ross Ulbricht Begins","creditText":"Spencer Platt—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3910983/silk-road-appeal/","name":"The Silk Road Mastermind Appealed His Life Sentence"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME Explains: The Deep Web","description":"The FBI takedown of the online market Silk Road reveals the challenges of regulating the Deep Web. 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