MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The US Marshals Service, a division of the Justice Department, is on Thursday auctioning 50,000 bitcoins seized during an FBI operation against Ross William Ulbricht, mastermind behind the now closed Silk Road illegal drugs marketplace.
"This sealed bid auction is for a portion of the bitcoins contained in wallet files that resided on certain computer hardware belonging to Ross William Ulbricht, that were seized on or about October 24, 2013," the Marshals Service wrote on its website.
Ulbricht was found guilty in creating and maintaining the Silk Road service in February, and could face life in jail. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 15.
The online black market operated from 2011 to 2013, offering users to nearly anonymously sell and purchase narcotics.
