Corrupt Silk Road Agent Pleaded Guilty, Gets 78 Months Jail Term

Corrupt DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) agent Carl Mark Force IV has been sentenced to 78 months, or six and a half years, in Federal prison for extortion, money laundering and obstruction of justice during the Silk Road investigation.

The sentence is less than the 87-month sentence the US government had requested for the rogue agent. Force investigated the dark-web marketplace Silk Road as part of a Baltimore-based task force. However, he undertook additional responsibilities not authorized by his superiors and tried to extort money from Silk Road operator Ross Ulbricht. Force also allegedly stole bitcoins in the Silk Road investigation, CoinDesk reported.

Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison in May, although Force’s and another rogue agent’s involvement in criminal activities in the said case were kept out of Ulbricht’s trial.

In July, Force pleaded guilty to charges of extortion, money laundering and obstruction of justice.

Despite pleading guilty, U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg didn’t look on the agent kindly, stating that “The extent and the scope of Mr. Force’s betrayal of public trust is quite simply breathtaking,” and that “it is compounded by the fact that it appears to have been motivated by greed and thrill seeking, including the pursuit of a book and movie deal.”

As a part of the sentence, Force has been ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution to former Silk Road staffer Curtis Green, and $337,000 to "RP", a CoinMKT customer from whom Force stole $3,70,000, Ars Technica reported.