Correct me if I'm wrong: IIRC the feds sent back mock pictures to 'confirm' the victims were killed, so I don't know if anyone was assassinated in reality but, as you said, Ulbricht payed to have them murdered.

[–] jagged_circle@feddit.nl 2 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

You're correct. They were all scams, including one by the US government

[–] db0@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

That doesn't mean they're scams. Ross really did earnestly pay to get people killed, he just got caught in a honey trap trying to do so and that's a good thing

[–] SpicyAnt@mander.xyz 3 points 36 minutes ago (1 children)

I have seen this repeated multiple times on Lemmy. When I look this up, I find:

Dismissal with prejudice: https://freeross.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Doc_14_Dismissal_Indictment_7-26-2018.pdf
The DEA agent responsible for this entrapment sentenced to prison for corruption: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-dea-agent-sentenced-extortion-money-laundering-and-obstruction-related-silk-road
The target of the alleged crime (Curtis Green) advocating for Ross and claiming that his own messages were altered: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0w8aOK1NRE
The fact that the payments to the hitmen were made via bank wire transfer: https://imgur.com/why-would-dpr-send-easily-tracked-80k-wire-transfer-hit-when-he-did-all-other-business-bitcoin-PEozMNM

So, the charges are dismissed with prejudice, the DEA agent imprisoned for corruption, the alleged victim testifies in his favor. What makes the other narrative compelling? I see people citing the court document in which the claims were made..... But what is the value of that document if the result was a dismissal with prejudice? Shouldn't that support the innocence narrative?

I am genuinely curious. I'm not necessarily advocating his innocence, I want to understand what other people know that makes them so convinced that he is guilty of this.

[–] HelixDab2@lemm.ee 2 points 19 minutes ago

Just to note, charges dismissed with prejudice means that the prosecution can't correct the errors and re-file the case. It's usually done when the judge has pretty compelling evidence that the charges are garbage, or there's really egregious prosecutorial misconduct.

[–] borari@lemmy.dbzer0.com -5 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Did you just restate exactly what the person above you already said?

[–] comfy@lemmy.ml 7 points 5 hours ago

I was clarifying and adding more details, and also restating to make it clear I wasn't disagreeing at all or trivializing it.