The situation is not looking all that bright for Shaun Bridges, the corrupt government official who helped bring down Silk Road. While he has filed a new appeal not too long ago, even his own lawyer is not giving the attempt much chance of success. In fact, she has indicated she would much rather withdraw herself from the case.
It has to be said, when Bridges was convicted to only six years in prison, the Bitcoin community was not amused. He pleaded guilty to stealing Bitcoin from
Silk Road vendors during the investigation. In total, roughly US$800,000 was obtained illegally by this corrupt Secret Service agent who helped bring down the infamous darknet marketplace.In December of 2015, Shaun Bridges started filing appeals to have his sentence reduced. So far, two lawyers have withdrawn themselves from his case, and it looks like the third one will not stick around much longer. Davina Pujari, while commendable she took on the job in the first place, sees no point in defending her client any further. Moreover, his pleas are “frivolous at best”.
Any appeal relying on somebody else’s testimony will most likely be destroyed by any prosecutor who is good at their job. Moreover, Shaun Bridges claims he was a “surprise victim”, which is in stark contrast to willingly defraud people for US$800,000 in Bitcoin. This is a clear example of someone grasping at straws because there is no other option left.
Granted, Shaun Bridges was not the only corrupt government officials in the Silk Road investigation. Former DEA agent Carl Force is also serving six years in prison. He attempted to extort Bitcoins from Ross Ulbricht, who ran the Silk Road marketplace. In fact, Ulbricht was a victim of this while investigation, yet he ends up serving life in prison.
It is equally interesting to note Shaun Bridges should at last serve life in prison for his offences. Not only did he steal US$800,000 in Bitcoin that we know of, but he may have obtained an additional US$700,000 worth of cryptocurrency during the investigation. If the US government wants to make an example out of people involved in this case, they should start with appropriately sentencing the real culprits. Those culprits are corrupt law enforcement agents and not Ross Ulbricht.
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