US prosecutors believe former Secret Service agent stole more Bitcoin

The U.S. government believes a former U.S. Secret Service agent convicted of stealing Bitcoin during an investigation into the Silk Road drug-dealing website may have also been involved in the theft of a now-defunct online black market.

Former Secret Service agent Shaun Bridges was sentenced to six years in federal prison after pleading guilty last year to laundering more than $800,000 in Bitcoin during the U.S. government's investigation into Silk Road.

Bridges was rearrested in January and tried to flee the country. He has been in custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since then, court records show.

Now the government says it believes Bridges may have been involved in other undisclosed thefts before Silk Road, which collapsed in 2013. The disclosures are part of a request for a February 17 detention hearing for Bridges.

The document states:

“The fact that the United States was recently made aware of additional bitcoin thefts from Secret Service accounts leads the government to conclude that Bridges collaborated with others in these thefts.”

Bridges is also seeking to unwind a search and seizure warrant issued during a January arrest, court documents show. The government wants to block that action because of Bridges' alleged accomplices.

The government said in court documents released on February 22 that the disclosure of the warrants "could hinder new investigations by vigilantly targeting the investigation."

Convicted Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht has filed an appeal, alleging that the government subjected him to various forms of mistreatment during the investigation and scrutiny.