Former US agent admits to stealing Bitcoin from online black market

A former U.S. Secret Service agent pleaded guilty on Monday to charges that he transferred more than $800,000 worth of bitcoin to his personal account during an investigation of the online drug market Silk Road.

Shaun Bridges, 33, appeared in federal court in San Francisco on Monday and pleaded guilty to charges of money laundering and obstruction of justice.

Silk Road was shut down in October 2013, more than two years after it was launched. Prosecutors said it facilitated more than $214 million in transactions of drugs and other illegal goods, often using bitcoin.

Ross Ulbricht, the founder of Silk Road, was sentenced to life in prison in May after a Manhattan federal jury found him guilty of multiple crimes, including distributing drugs over the Internet.

Bridges was part of a federal task force from Baltimore that was involved in the Silk Road investigation. Another member of the team, former Drug Enforcement Administration employee Carl Force, also pleaded guilty to racketeering, money laundering and obstruction of justice.

A lawyer for Ulbricht said the charges "dispel the widespread corruption that characterized the Silk Road investigation."

Bridges admitted in court on Monday that his actions led Ulbricht to believe that another person had stolen Silk Road funds and had hired someone to kill him.

Bridges' sentencing is expected in December.