As Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht continues to serve two life sentences for charges related to hacking, drug trafficking, and money laundering, another federal officer has admitted less-than-pure intentions stemming from the investigation of the digital marketplace. U.S. Secret Service agent Shaun Bridges has pled guilty to obstruction of justice and money laundering, ultimately revealing he (temporarily) walked away with $820,000.
Bridges' admission comes just two months after a similar admission from fellow agent Carl Mark Force, who used the aliases "Nob" and "French Maid." According to Ars Technica, Force also secured a $240,000 contract with 20th Century Fox to "tell his story." Bridges was reportedly given administrative access to Silk Road in 2013, at which point he changed multiple accounts' passwords and started transferring roughly 20,000 bitcoins into his wallet. The Daily Dot notes that these bitcoins, worth $350,000 at the time, would be worth more than $4.6 million today. Bridges eventually cashed out several months later to the tune of $820,000.
Ulbricht's lawyers are hoping that these two damning admissions from lead Silk Road investigators will help them secure a reduced sentence, though some are skeptical of such an appeal's chances of success. Bridges is expected to be sentenced in December, though the question still remains: Who watches the Watchmen?
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