WASHINGTON, July 2 (UPI) -- A former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges he stole $200,000 in digital currency and tried to sell law enforcement secrets while investigating the online drug marketplace Silk Road.
Carl M. Force, 46, was the lead undercover agent with direct contact to Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, who went by the moniker "Dread Pirate Roberts." The Justice Department said Force, who went under the aliases "Nob" and "French Maid" during the investigation, offered to sell Ulbricht fake drivers' licenses and law enforcement secrets about the government's Silk Road investigation in exchange for more than $200,000 in digital currency called bitcoins. He deposited the currency into his personal account.
Force pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges of money laundering, extortion and obstruction of justice and extortion in federal court in San Francisco.
"Former DEA Agent Carl Force crossed the line from enforcing the law to breaking it," said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. "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."
Investigators said Force also admitted to signing a $240,000 contract with 20th Century Fox to assist in a movie about the Silk Road investigation without DEA approval.
Force, a DEA agent for 15 years, is one of two former federal agents charged with crimes in connection to the Silk Road investigation. Shaun W. Bridges, 32, of Laurel, Md., a former U.S. Secret Service agent, has been accused of stealing more than $800,000 in bitcoins.
Prosecutors said Silk Road was an underground illegal marketplace that hosted millions in drug deals. In May, Ulbricht was sentenced in life in prison after he was convicted of running the site.
