DD Support Board and Research Team

[scion]

Former Federal Agents Charged With Stealing Bitcoin During Probe

Men were members of a ‘Silk Road Task Force’ operating out of Baltimore

By Andrew Grossman
March 30, 2015 1:08 p.m. ET
http://www.wsj.com/articles/former-federal-agents-charged-with-stealing-bitcoins-during-probe-1427735311?mod=wsj_streaming_stream

WASHINGTON—Two former federal agents were charged with stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars of virtual currency during an undercover investigation into an online drug market, bringing an age-old law enforcement problem into the Internet age.

Prosecutors in San Francisco unsealed charges Monday against former Drug Enforcement Administration agent Carl Force and former Secret Service agent Shaun Bridges, accusing them of pocketing bitcoins amid their probe of Silk Road, a now-defunct website that linked buyers and sellers of illicit goods.

The site’s founder, Ross Ulbricht—known online as Dread Pirate Roberts—was convicted by a jury in February on an array of charges related to his role in the site.

Both agents were members of a Silk Road Task Force operating out of Baltimore. Mr. Force allegedly created a fake online persona called “French Maid” and offered to sell Dread Pirate Roberts information about the federal investigation in exchange for about $100,000 of bitcoin. He also funneled money seized during the probe to his own personal account, according to the criminal complaint.

Mr. Bridges, meanwhile, allegedly used credentials taken from a Silk Road administrator who had been arrested to steal bitcoins from the site. He transferred $820,000 to his personal account, according to the complaint.

The men were set to appear in federal court in San Francisco on Monday.

Write to Andrew Grossman at [e-mail]

http://www.wsj.com/articles/former-federal-agents-charged-with-stealing-bitcoins-during-probe-1427735311?mod=wsj_streaming_stream