Two former federal factor who investigated the Silk Road , the notorious on-line drug marketplace grab by the FBI in 2013 , have been point for their ownoutrageous digital crimes , including slip money they acquired on their druggie hush-hush assignment .
Former DEA officer Carl Mark Force IV and former Secret Service agent Shaun Bridges , both part of a Baltimore - based task force devoted to study down the Silk Road , are impeach of conducting wire fraud and money laundering . Force is also criminate of theft of government property .
Force was actually the lead agent tasked with establishing communication with the Dread Pirate Roberts , but the complaint against him allege that he did a lot more than that , accord toa Justice Department memostating he “ developed extra online personas and engaged in a panoptic range of illegal natural action . ” The complaint say he stole from the government and third parties .

perhaps the most mess up charge against Force need the clandestine officersecretly love with the investigationto make money . The complaint says Force tried to wring Dread Pirate Roberts by saying he ’d give the government data unless DPR devote $ 250,000 . The complaint also say that Force produce a persona called “ French Maid ” and convinced DPR to pay “ French Maid ” $ 100,000 for information on the political science ’s investigation .
Meanwhile , Bridges used his knowledge of Mt. Gox , the Bitcoin exchange he was also investigating , to divert $ 820,000 of the money he used undercoverinto occult personal accounts on the now - defunct exchange . Bridgesself - surrendered today .
So during the investigation that led to the arrest andcontroversial trialof Ross Ulbricht , who was convicted on drug kingpin charges for take to the woods the situation , Union agents were siphon off Bitcointhey obtainedwhile sneaking around the drug website undercover . perchance they did n’t realize that Bitcoinisn’t really anonymous ?

This see like VERY good news for Ulbricht , since it makes the Silk Road probe front enormously unelaborated . Two officers full - on breaking bad on the job is n’t exactly a stellar sign that the casing was conducted above - board . And government federal agency sketchiness is exactly why Ulbricht ’s defense attorney Joshua Dratel filed for a retrial : Dratchelsaid the administration did n’t render exculpatory grounds in time , and that itconducted warrantless surveillance .
Dratel ’s accusations stay unproven , but now it ’s clear there was some fraudulent behavior going down on the government ’s side .
you’re able to read the full affidavit against Force and Bridges here :

DrugsPoliticsRoss UlbrichtSilk Road
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