Federal Agents Charged With Money Laundering in Connection With Silk Road Inquiry

Two federal agents have been charged with money laundering and wire fraud in connection with the undercover investigation of Silk Road, the website that sold drugs and other illegal items.

One of the agents, Carl Mark Force IV, was also charged with theft of government property and conflict of interest, according to The New York Times. Force worked for the Drug Enforcement Administration. The other agent, Shaun W. Bridges, worked for the Secret Service.

According to the allegations, Force stole “Bitcoins” and converted them to his own personal use. Bitcoins are the digital currency that was used by buyers and sellers on Silk Road. Force obtained them in his capacity as an undercover agent, the complaint said.

Bridges is charged with diverting more than $800,000 in digital currency to a personal account. He gained control of the funds during the Silk Road investigations, according to authorities.

In February, Ross W. Ulbricht, the man who founded Silk Road, was convicted on seven federal charges. Silk Road sold illegal drugs including heroin, cocaine and LSD.

Prosecutors called Ulbricht a “digital kingpin.” Silk Road generated revenues of more than $213 million from January 2011 to October 2013, when the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Ulbricht.

Four of the convictions, including distributing narcotics on the Internet and engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, carry potential life sentences. Ulbricht will be sentenced May 15.

Silk Road could only be accessed by using encryption software called Tor, which shields computers’ IP addresses, allowing people to make purchases anonymously. The website did not use credit cards, instead relying on Bitcoins.