Tainted former US Drug Enforcement Administration officer Carl Force has pleaded guilty to extorting Bitcoin from online drug marketplace Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht. According to his 16-page plea agreement, Carl has pleaded guilty to money laundering and obstruction of justice, Forbes reported earlier today.
Carl is scheduled to be sentenced on October 19 and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison.
Assistant Attorney General Caldwell said, “While investigating the Silk Road, former DEA Agent Carl Force crossed the line from enforcing the law to breaking it.” He added that, “Seduced by the perceived anonymity of virtual currency and the dark web, Force used invented online personas and encrypted messaging to fraudulently obtain Bitcoin worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from the government and investigative targets alike.”
Joshua Horowitz, one of Ross Ulbricht’s defense attorneys told, “The recently filed Complaint which names Carl Force as a defendant demonstrates that the Government’s investigation of Mr. Ulbricht lacked integrity, and was wholly and fatally compromised from the inside.”
A former Secret Service agent Shaun Bridges has agreed to plead guilty of stealing around $820,000 in Bitcoin from Silk Road mastermind Ross Ulbricht. Bridges will file his plea on August 31 and is expected to be served a minimum of 10 years in prison.
Will the Judiciary set an example?
Ross Ulbricht was served life imprisonment in May for managing an illegal online website Silk Road which quickly raked in $200 million in sales. The Bitcoin community is now expecting the US judiciary to award the two corrupt officers harshest punishments as a befitting warning to those who misuse their power and authority to cross the line for personal gains.
But will it? We will come to know about that on October 19 and will relay the information as it comes.