The criminal indictment against the agents was unsealed Monday, laid out an array of felony charges, including money laundering, wire fraud, theft of government property and conflict of interest.
For example, the government alleges, one agent created several online personas during the investigation, which he used to anonymously contact Ulbricht offering to sell information about what the federal investigation. After “converting to his own personal use” close to $776,000 worth of Bitcoin, he clumsily faked a subpoena to try to trick Venmo into unfreezing his account.
Prosecutors say another agent—a computer forensics expert—was a little more elegant, quietly diverting close to $800,000 worth of Bitcoin. According to the indictment, he moved the money off the Silk Road site and onto currency exchange site Mt Gox, where he was able to cash out and transfer the balance to a personal bank account via an LLC called Quantum International Investments.
Both men resigned from government as soon as they learned they were under investigation, but it one of them—the Secret Service agent—got the better deal. One was reportedly arrested this weekend in Baltimore, where he’ll remain in custody until at least Thursday. Meanwhile, the other got to turn himself in in San Francisco, where he was released on bond not long after.
