This is wildest, most unbelievable piece of news. I am seriously wondering if this is an April Fools Day prank.

Although the investigation into Force and Bridges began approximately nine months before Ulbricht’s trial, Ross Ulbricht’s defense team was kept unaware of it until about five weeks before the trial date, at which point prosecutors moved to keep the information sealed. Nothing about either Force or Bridges made it into the trial.

“The Government’s efforts to keep the Carl Force scandal out of the public eye at trial is in itself scandalous,” said Joshua Horowitz, one of Ulbricht’s defense attorneys. “The recently filed Complaint which names Carl Force as a defendant demonstrates that the Government’s investigation of Mr. Ulbricht lacked integrity, and was wholly and fatally compromised from the inside.”

So I get that, among whatever else Ross Ulbricht, the creator of Silk Road, is being charged with, he ultimately did take out a hit on someone. But the hit was faked, unawares to us and every reporter covering this story for the last two years, by these two FBI agents who were part of the investigation. Holy fucking cannoli. And the FBI wants to seal the evidence of all this because word of this scandal if it all reached trial would be some extra-level shit embarrassing.

Truly, my head is spinning.

...former DEA agent Carl Mark Force IV...

This entire story, quoted name included, is more odd and intricate than many works of fiction.

I've never used Silk Road 1 or 2, but targeting these networks makes for easy busts vs. fucking around with cartels or mafias.

It's unfortunate that Dread Pirate Roberts, Ulbricht or not, will still be painted as the supervillian while this corruption case gets swept under the rug per our usual modus operandi. I'm saving this post to come back to over the next few months/years in case it receives scant additional media coverage.

Quantum International Investments, LLC

Shaun Bridges has managed to outdo all of the new-age bullshit, setting the bar even higher for bastardizing the word "quantum".