Senior FBI Agent Admits Stealing $2.4 Million in Crypto Seized in Investigations

Patrick Steven Yaroch, 37, a Supervisory Special Agent in the FBI's Counterintelligence and Espionage Division, has pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges. He faces up to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors say he used his seniority to access FBI systems holding the codes and passwords needed to move cryptocurrency, then transferred funds to cover his debts.

From December 2024, he made 100 transfers from 79 wallets linked to 35 FBI investigations. The wallets belonged to at least two adversarial nations and 10 crime victims. Thefts ranged from 81 cents to more than $580,000. Prosecutors said the misuse of these credentials compromised multiple investigations and exposed FBI sources and methods to the wallet holders. Investigators also found ChatGPT conversations showing he planned to buy a vineyard in Portugal and retire there.

The scheme unravelled in July, when Yaroch confessed to a Department of Justice employee he knew from a previous job. He said he was frustrated at being unable to do more to disrupt a suspect's cryptocurrency use, and that the guilt was "eating him up inside". The case is a stark reminder that trusted insiders with broad access to sensitive credentials can pose serious risks, whatever the organisation.