Former Secret Service Agent Who Stolen $800,000 in Bitcoin Was Arrested

Author: Velvet Gold Mine

Sean Bridges, an agent involved in the investigation of the now-defunct dark web site Silk Road but who was subsequently indicted for stealing $800,000 in the cryptocurrency Bitcoin from the site, was arrested at his home in Laurel, Maryland, the day before he was scheduled to turn himself in to begin his sentence.

During the arrest, officers found bags containing Bridges’ passport and a notarized copy of his passport, as well as corporate records for three overseas entities in Nevis, Belize City and Mauritius, according to court documents.

He also had in his possession several bulletproof vests used for secret service missions, which the state claimed were stolen from the government.

The web of corruption in the Silk Road investigation is staggering. Bridges was joined by another undercover DEA agent, Carl Foos, in the investigation of the "Dread Pirate Roberts," the mysterious figure behind Silk Road. Foos maintained contact with Roberts' account under the alias "Nob."

Dread Pirate Roberts was eventually identified as Ross Ulbrich, who was arrested in 2013 and charged with drug dealing and attempted murder for hire. In 2015, he was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.

But the Fosse and Bridges affair was a humiliating end for the government, prompting Ulbrich's defence lawyer to say corruption "permeated the Silk Road investigation".

Using other aliases such as "French Maid" and "Death from Above," Foos used information gathered during the investigation to extort hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of Bitcoin from Ulbrich. The duo also transferred Bitcoin given to them by the government for their investigation into personal accounts, and they even set up a Bitcoin investment fund in their own names, called Quantum Theory Investments and Yinggedi LLC.

Ulbrich firmly believed that the Bitcoins were stolen by Silk Road employee Curtis Green, who was actually a witness to the incident. He used the alias "Nob" - who was actually Fox - to hire a killer, and was eventually convicted for this act, while Fox, Green and Bridges faked Green's death.

Fox is currently serving a sentence of six years and six months and Bridges is in custody and considered a flight risk according to the government's account of his arrest, although the Ministry of Justice did not respond to a Guardian request for further information.