The US government believes that a former Secret Service agent convicted of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in bitcoin during the investigation of Silk Road may have been involved with additional thefts from the now-defunct online dark market. Ex-Secret Service agent Shaun Bridges was sentenced to nearly six years in federal prison after pleading guilty last year to money laundering and obstruction charges tied to the theft of more than $800,000 in bitcoin from the Silk Road during the US government’s investigation. Bridges was re-arrested in late January on suspicion that he was going to attempt to flee the country. Since then, he has remained in the custody of the US Marshals Service, court records show. Now, the government is saying that it…
A former Secret Service agent who pled guilty to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in bitcoin during the US government’s investigation of the now-defunct dark market Silk Road has been re-arrested. Court documents point to a suspicion on the part of the federal government that Shaun Bridges may have been attempting to flee the country. In a 28th January document, prosecutors sought to prevent the court from approving Bridges’ request to be allowed to surrender to a Bureau of Prisons facility in the state of New Hampshire. Judge Richard Seeborg approved that order on 29th January. Prosecutors say the arresting officers discovered passports for Bridges, documents pertaining to offshore companies based in Belize, Mauritius and Nevis, and a bulletproof vest….
Jon Southurst is head of content and marketing at blockchain data service Kaiko.com. His work has appeared in CoinDesk, NewAsianist, The Toronto Star (Canada), The Age, MacAddict and other technology magazines. In this piece, Jon takes aim at the mainstream media and their issues reporting on emerging technologies in the sector. Bitcoin is a spanking-new, highly-specialized topic. Even those deeply involved don’t agree on many points. So why trust a reporter who’s only given it an hour’s thought, max? My well-meaning, non-tech friends know I’m interested in bitcoin – since I’ve written about it every day since mid-2013 and bewilder them with it on Facebook. They often send me links to bitcoin articles, usually from the mainstream media. In a way, it’s a…
Nearly eight months after being sentenced to life in prison for his role in the operation of the now-defunct dark market Silk Road, Ross Ulbricht is seeking a new trial. In a new filing submitted to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, Ulbricht’s defense – which declared its intent to appeal in June – argued that the court hid key evidence, particularly the actions of federal agents Carl Mark Force IV and Shaun Bridges amid the US government’s investigation of the Silk Road. The defense also questioned the legality of some of the searches and seizures conducted during the federal investigation and said that Ulbricht’s rights to due process and a fair trial had been denied. Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison in May…
There are times we feel like Bill Murray in the movie “Groundhog Day.” No matter what we do, we’re subjected to the same surroundings and events. Everywhere we look, we see the same thing over and over again. Things tend to become routine. It becomes mundane and to a degree, even a little irritating. Today is one of those days; a recently published article details a think tank’s findings regarding bitcoin and digital currency, and surprise! Those involved in the think tank believe that insurgencies and radical groups ranging from drug cartels to terrorist units will find further ways to misuse digital currency for the sake of evil. In a 100-page report, the think tank participants explain: “Deploying a virtual currency may be an attractive alternative for…