Former Secret Service Agent Sentenced for Stealing Bitcoin
A former U.S. Secret Service agent was sentenced to nearly six years in prison and agreed to pay $1.1 million for stealing thousands of bitcoin during an investigation into the now-shuttered website Silk Road.
Shaun W. Bridges, who had pleaded guilty to felony charges of money laundering and obstruction of justice, was also sentenced Monday in San Francisco federal court to three years of supervised release after he completes his prison term.
Under the plea agreement, Mr. Bridges, 33 years old, admitted to illegally accessing the website and siphoning bitcoin into an account that he controlled at Mt. Gox, a digital-currency exchange that has since closed.
Mr. Bridges was part of the Secret Service’s electronic crimes task force and had been assigned to the investigation into Silk Road, an online marketplace for illicit goods. At the time of the theft, authorities say, the bitcoin were worth about $350,000.
Mr. Bridges sold the bitcoin for about $820,000 and deposited the money in a U.S.-based personal investment account.
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Lawyers for Mr. Bridges had asked the court to sentence him to three years in prison, citing his past conduct, including a roughly 12-year career in law enforcement. They noted that he cooperated with investigators and repaid about $500,000.
The government had asked for the stiffer sentence, arguing his actions had betrayed the public’s trust and tarnished the law-enforcement community.
Mr. Bridges received the maximum sentence recommended under federal guidelines, 71 months.
An early investor in bitcoin, Mr. Bridges had about $175,000 worth of bitcoin stolen, said his lawyer, Steven Hale Levin.
“Rather than report the theft, he made the impulsive decision to steal bitcoins from a Silk Road account,” Mr. Levin said. “Mr. Bridges knew from the moment that he stole the bitcoin that his career was over.”
He is scheduled to report to prison on Jan. 29.
Via; http://www.wsj.com/articles/former-secret-service-agent-sentenced-for-stealing-bitcoin-1449550462
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