Business Crimes Hotline

First, while working as an undercover agent, Force offered to sell Ulbricht false drivers' licenses and inside information relating to the federal investigation of Silk Road. Instead of turning over his communications to the DEA, Force attempted to conceal the conversations through encrypted messaging and deposited the funds he obtained from Ulbricht, over $200,000 worth, in his personal bank account. It is unknown whether the information Force provided to Ulbricht in exchange for Bitcoin was truthful.

Second, Force served as the Chief Compliance Officer for CoinMKT, a currency exchange that supports conversion between Bitcoin and U.S. dollars, without DEA approval. Force also invested $110,000 in the company, making him one of the largest investors to date. In early 2014, Force received notice from CoinMKT that it was monitoring suspicious activity of a particular account. Force instructed CoinMKT to freeze the funds, at which point he transferred $300,000 in frozen assets to his personal account. Finally, without DEA permission, Force contracted with 20th Century Fox Film Studios for a movie deal that would detail the Silk Road investigation.

To make matters worse, Ulbricht's lawyer plans to use Force's conviction when filing an appeal, as he was not originally permitted to reference the corruption at Ulbricht's trial, which he argues hindered the case.

In response to Force's criminal schemes, Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell stated that Force “crossed the line from enforcing the law to breaking it” and was “seduced by the perceived anonymity of virtual currency and the dark web.” At sentencing, Force commented that he “held a role of public trust and ' abused that position.”

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CALIFORNIA

Former DEA Agent Sentenced to over Six Years

After pleading guilty on July 1, 2015 to extortion, money laundering, and obstruction of justice, on Oct. 19, 2015, former DEA veteran of 15 years, Carl Force, was sentenced to 78 months in prison, ordered to pay $340,000 in restitution, and sentenced to serve three years of supervised release. The sentence was the result of the role Force played in the Silk Road investigation, what was a multi-agency effort to crack down on an online platform to buy and sell illegal drugs. For payment, Silk Road utilized “Bitcoin,” a virtual currency. As an undercover agent on the Silk Road task force, Force was in charge of taking down the founder of this black market operation, Ross Ulbricht. The latter was convicted of drug trafficking, money laundering and hacking, and sentenced to life in prison earlier this year.

First, while working as an undercover agent, Force offered to sell Ulbricht false drivers' licenses and inside information relating to the federal investigation of Silk Road. Instead of turning over his communications to the DEA, Force attempted to conceal the conversations through encrypted messaging and deposited the funds he obtained from Ulbricht, over $200,000 worth, in his personal bank account. It is unknown whether the information Force provided to Ulbricht in exchange for Bitcoin was truthful.

Second, Force served as the Chief Compliance Officer for CoinMKT, a currency exchange that supports conversion between Bitcoin and U.S. dollars, without DEA approval. Force also invested $110,000 in the company, making him one of the largest investors to date. In early 2014, Force received notice from CoinMKT that it was monitoring suspicious activity of a particular account. Force instructed CoinMKT to freeze the funds, at which point he transferred $300,000 in frozen assets to his personal account. Finally, without DEA permission, Force contracted with 20th Century Fox Film Studios for a movie deal that would detail the Silk Road investigation.

To make matters worse, Ulbricht's lawyer plans to use Force's conviction when filing an appeal, as he was not originally permitted to reference the corruption at Ulbricht's trial, which he argues hindered the case.

In response to Force's criminal schemes, Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell stated that Force “crossed the line from enforcing the law to breaking it” and was “seduced by the perceived anonymity of virtual currency and the dark web.” At sentencing, Force commented that he “held a role of public trust and ' abused that position.”

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