tech:

taffy

Former Secret Service agent sentenced in bitcoin money laundering scheme

A former U.S. Secret Service Special Agent, who had been a member of the Baltimore Silk Road Task Force, was sentenced to prison on charges of money laundering, according to a statement from the Justice department.

Shaun W. Bridges, 35, of Laurel, Md., was sentenced to 24 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg in San Francisco following his earlier guilty plea to one count of money laundering.  Judge Seeborg ordered that the sentence be served consecutively to a previous sentence that Bridges is currently serving. Mr. Bridges was also ordered to forfeit approximately 1,500 bitcoin and other fiat currency which has a current value of approximately $10.4 million.

Mr. Bridges had been a Special Agent with the U.S. Secret Service for approximately six years in the Baltimore Field Office.  Between 2012 and 2014, he was assigned to the Baltimore Silk Road Task Force, a multi-agency group investigating illegal activity on the Silk Road, a covert online marketplace for illicit goods, including drugs.

The case is being investigated by the FBI’s San Francisco Division, IRS-CI’s Washington, D.C. Field Office Cyber Crimes Unit, and the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General in Washington D.C.

[Image courtesy: Department of Justice]

Just in

Vercel raises $250M

San Francisco-based Vercel, a frontend cloud platform provider, has secured $250 million in Series E funding, bringing the company's valuation to $3.25 billion.

Worky raises $6M (Mexico)

Mexico City-based Worky, a provider of HR and payroll software solutions for Mexican companies, has closed a $6 million Series A financing round.

Amazon announces $1.31B investment in France

Amazon has announced a new investment of about $1.31 billion (€1.2 billion) in France, which the company says will lead to the creation of over 3,000 permanent jobs in the country.

Amazon Web Services CEO Adam Selipsky to step down — CNBC

Adam Selipsky, CEO of Amazon’s cloud computing business, will step down from his role next month. Matt Garman, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Amazon Web Services, will succeed Mr. Selipsky after he exits the company June 3, writes Annie Palmer. 

Palo Alto Networks, Accenture expand alliance to offer generative AI services

Palo Alto Networks and Accenture have announced the expansion of their strategic alliance to provide new offerings that combine Palo Alto Networks' Precision AI technology with Accenture's secure generative AI services.