US Secret Service agent sentenced to 6 years in prison for stealing Bitcoin

A U.S. Secret Service agent accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bitcoin during his investigation into the Silk Road scam has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison.

According to a court memo dated November 30, Agent Shaun Bridges has been sentenced to a total of 71 months in prison.

Earlier this year, Bridges was charged with obstruction of justice and participating in money laundering by stealing more than $820,000 worth of bitcoin from Silk Road accounts.

According to Ars Techna, Richard Seeborg, the U.S. District Court judge in charge of the case, said the case presented an extremely serious crime in which public officials betrayed the trust placed in them by the public.

"In my opinion, this stems from human greed. There is no need to change the case any further," he said.

During the trial, Bridges told the judge that he took full responsibility for his actions and that his thefts had deeply hurt his family. He said:

"I think it's clear that I take full responsibility. My wife has lost everything and I just want to apologize to everyone."

Another federal agent, former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Carl Mark Force IV, was charged with racketeering, money laundering and obstruction of justice during the Silk Road investigation and has been sentenced to 78 months in prison.

Ross Ulbricht, the Silk Road administrator who was linked to Bridges and Forces' actions, was convicted in February and sentenced to life in prison.

Original article: http://www.coindesk.com/secret-service-agent-gets-six-year-prison-sentence-for-bitcoin-theft/
By Stan Higgins
Compiled by: Satuoxi
Source (translation): Babbitt Information (http://www.8btc.com/bitcoin-theft)