{"id":16657,"date":"2015-10-20T20:36:27","date_gmt":"2015-10-21T03:36:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=16657"},"modified":"2015-10-20T20:36:27","modified_gmt":"2015-10-21T03:36:27","slug":"former-dea-agent-sentenced-to-more-than-six-years-in-prison-for-extortion-and-other-crimes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=16657","title":{"rendered":"Former DEA Agent Sentenced to More Than Six Years in Prison for Extortion and Other Crimes"},"content":{"rendered":"

CALIFORNIA<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n

A federal judge on Monday sentenced a former DEA agent to six years and six months in prison for extortion, money laundering and obstruction of justice, officials said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The crimes were committed while he was working as an undercover agent investigating Silk Road, an online marketplace used to facilitate the sale and purchase of illegal drugs and other contraband, according to authorities.<\/span><\/p>\n

Carl M. Force<\/strong>, 46, of Baltimore, plead guilty on July 1.<\/span><\/p>\n

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Seeborg<\/strong> of California also ordered Force to pay $340,000 in restitution.<\/span><\/p>\n

Force was a Special Agent with the DEA for 15 years.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"DEA<\/a>Between 2012 and 2014, officials said he was assigned to the Baltimore Silk Road Task Force, a multi-agency group\u00a0<\/strong>investigating illegal activity on the Silk Road.<\/span><\/p>\n

Force was the lead undercover agent in communication with Ross Ulbricht, aka \u201cDread Pirate Roberts<\/strong>,\u201d who ran the Silk Road.<\/span><\/p>\n

As part of the plea agreement, Force admitted that while working undercover as a DEA agent as \u201cNob,\u201d in the summer of 2013, Forced offered to sell Ulbricht fake drivers\u2019 licenses and \u201cinside\u201d law enforcement information about Silk Road investigation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Force, using the name Nob, claimed to have access through a corrupt government employee, officials stated.\u00a0He admitted that he attempted to conceal his communications with Ulbricht about the payments by directing Ulbricht to use encrypted messaging.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although Force understood these payments, which were made in bitcoin, to be government property, as they constituted evidence of a crime, he admitted that he falsified official reports and stole the funds, depositing the bitcoin into his own personal account and then converting them into dollars.<\/span><\/p>\n

Force admitted that, at the time, the value of the bitcoin he received from Ulbricht was in excess of approximately $100,000, according to authorities.<\/span><\/p>\n

Force also admitted that he was involved in a scheme that he created to fraudulently obtain additional funds from Ulbricht through another online persona, \u201cFrench Maid,\u201d of which his Task Force colleagues were not aware.<\/span><\/p>\n

Force said that, as French Maid, he solicited and received bitcoin payments from Ulbricht worth approximately $100,000 in exchange for information concerning the government\u2019s investigation into the Silk Road.<\/span><\/p>\n

In connection with his guilty plea, Force also admitted that, in late 2013, in his personal capacity, he invested $110,000 worth of bitcoin in CoinMKT, a digital currency exchange company, according to officials.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although he did not receive permission from the DEA to do so, he served as CoinMKT\u2019s Chief Compliance Officer.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this role, in February 2014, Force was alerted by CoinMKT to what the company initially believed to be suspicious activity in a particular account.<\/span><\/p>\n

Force directed CoinMKT to freeze $337,000 in cash and digital currency from the account and he subsequently transferred the approximately $300,000 of digital currency funds into a personal account that he controlled.<\/span><\/p>\n

Force also entered into a $240,000 contract with 20th Century Fox Film Studios related to a film concerning the government\u2019s investigation into the Silk Road.<\/span><\/p>\n

Force admitted that he did not secure the necessary approvals from the DEA to do so.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to his plea agreement, Force admitted that he had obstructed justice both by soliciting and accepting bitcoin from Ulricht and by lying to federal prosecutors and agents who were investigating potential misconduct by Force and others.<\/span><\/p>\n

Currently, officials said Force is one of two federal agents charged with crimes in connection to their roles in investigating the Silk Road.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Shaun<\/a>
Shaun W. Bridges<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Shaun W. Bridges<\/strong>, 32, of Laurel, Maryland, a former Special Agent with the U.S. Secret Service, is charged in a two-count information with money laundering and obstruction of justice for getting more than $800,000 in digital currency during the Silk Road investigation.<\/span><\/p>\n

The charges contained in an information are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CALIFORNIA A federal judge on Monday sentenced a former DEA agent to six years and six months in prison for extortion, money laundering and obstruction of justice, officials said. 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