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Secret Service agent to plead guilty to stealing $800K from Silk Road

One down, one to go.

 

Patrick Howell O'Neill

Internet Culture

Posted on Jun 17, 2015   Updated on May 28, 2021, 1:34 pm CDT

One of the law-enforcement agents who allegedly tried to steal over $800,000 during a federal investigation into the Silk Road black market will plead guilty, according to court documents spotted by Forbes.

The alleged crimes of Secret Service agent Shaun Bridges and Carl Mark Force IV, a retired Drug Enforcement Administration officer, was revealed weeks after Ross Ulbricht was convicted on seven felony charges that landed him two life sentences in federal prison earlier this month.

Ulbricht’s defense team was unable to use facts relating to either Bridges or Force despite their central roles in the Silk Road investigations.

“The fact that Ross’ attorneys were not permitted to use this important information at trial was devastating to Ross’ defense,” Ulbricht’s mother Lyn Ulbricht told the Daily Dot when Bridges was first arrested. “These revelations of corruption cast doubt on the integrity of the entire investigation and the government’s case, including accusations of murder-for-hire, which we have always been certain were false.”

Bridges’ plea is scheduled to come in August, but the specifics are still being worked out between the government and defense.

You can read the court documents revealing Bridges’ guilty plea below:

H/T Forbes | Photo via Vox Efx/flickr (CC BY 2.0)

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*First Published: Jun 17, 2015, 5:17 pm CDT