Ross Ulbricht went on trial Tuesday before a Manhattan Court on multiple charges stemming from his creation and administration of notorious darknet marketplace Silk Road.

Ulbricht is facing charges of conspiring to commit narcotics trafficking, conspiring to commit computer hacking and conspiring to commit money laundering.

The defense opened with attorney Joshua Dratel admitting upfront that Ulbricht was the founder of Silk Road, a fact not previously admitted by Ulbricht, before claiming that while Ulbricht set up the site, he never controlled it for most of his existence, and that he was simply a fall guy for those that did.

“After a few months, he found it too stressful for him, and he handed it over to others,” Dratel told the jury. “At the end, he was lured back by those operators to…take the fall for the people running the website.”

“Ross is not a drug dealer. Ross is not a kingpin. Ross is not involved in a conspiracy” he added.

Dratel argued further that Ulbricht was not Dread Pirate Roberts, the online handle for the operator of the site.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Howard for the prosecution said in an opening statement that “this is a case about a dark and secret part of the Internet… where people can buy dangerous drugs,” and that “Ross Ulbricht was the kingpin of this digital, criminal empire.”

On the claims by the defense that Ulbricht was not running Silk Road, Howard said it was nonsense, and that Ulbricht had been “caught red handed.” At the time of his arrest, Howard said, Ulbricht was actively communicating online as Dread Pirate Roberts with a member of Silk Road’s support staff – who just happened to be an undercover FBI agent.

The “interesting” strategy of the defense in claiming some initial complicity for Ulbricht but no ongoing involvement has been argued of having a chance of success if it could befuddle the jurors over the many technological dimensions of the case.

Ulbricht is facing separate charges of hiring a hit man to murder as many as six people in Baltimore, Maryland once this trial has ended.

The trial continues Wednesday.

photo credit: afsart via photopin cc