Silk Road mastermind appeals his case

Ulbricht's lawyer, Joshua Dratel, has not decided yet what issues the appeal will be based on, according to Dratel's office.

Last week, Judge Katherine Forrest, who oversaw the jury case at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, gave Ulbricht two concurrent life sentences for aiding and abetting drug distribution, and for running a criminal enterprise. He also got additional prison time for computer hacking (5 years), identification forgery (15 years) and money laundering (20 years), all to run concurrently.

Dratel is appealing both the conviction, as well as a forfeiture ruling that states Ulbricht owes the government over $183 million, based on Silk Road profits.

Federal prosecutors estimated that between 2011 and 2013, Silk Road facilitated over $1 billion in drug sales worldwide, along with other unlawful activities such as money laundering and the sales of computer hacking tools and fake identification forms.

The case will be heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and its ruling, except under special circumstance, will be final.

Joab Jackson covers enterprise software and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Joab on Twitter at @Joab_Jackson. Joab's e-mail address is Joab_Jackson@idg.com