A former FBI supervisory special agent was charged in Virginia after allegedly using bureau systems to steal nearly $1 million in cryptocurrency from wallets linked to a Russian investigative target, NBC News reported on Monday.
Patrick Steven Yaroch was charged by criminal complaint with interstate transportation of stolen goods, securities, and monies, and receipt of stolen goods, securities, and monies. The complaint covers alleged conduct from at least January 1, 2025, through July 31, 2026.
Yaroch worked in the FBI’s Boston Division from approximately 2017 to 2025, where he was assigned to a national security squad investigating an individual from a country identified in the affidavit only as an adversarial nation. NBC News reported that the investigation concerned Russia. Yaroch later worked in the Counterintelligence and Espionage Division at FBI headquarters and held a Top Secret security clearance with access to sensitive compartmented information.
According to the affidavit, Yaroch became frustrated in late 2024 because the FBI could not or would not disrupt the target’s use of cryptocurrency accounts. He allegedly searched internal FBI holdings for wallet credentials, memorized seed phrases needed to access the accounts, created a personal cryptocurrency wallet, and transferred funds into it approximately 10 to 12 times.
Yaroch allegedly told FBI personnel that he had decided to “take matters into his own hands.” He said the transferred cryptocurrency had been mixed with his personal assets, including investment gains, making it difficult for him to determine the precise amount allegedly taken. He estimated that the stolen sum was less than $1 million.
Investigators trace cryptocurrency transfers
Investigators found that Yaroch had moved approximately $1.02 million on or around July 23 into an account on Suilend, a decentralized lending platform. A preliminary review showed a balance of approximately $933,756 in that account. His Kraken account held approximately $188,570, primarily in US dollars and the USDC stablecoin.
The figures do not necessarily represent the amount allegedly stolen because the affidavit says Yaroch commingled the cryptocurrency with personal funds and notes that digital-asset prices fluctuate. Yaroch told investigators that he had placed the funds in Suilend to earn interest and chose the service because he liked its water-droplet logo.
On July 31, Yaroch signed a consent form allowing investigators to seize funds from cryptocurrency accounts under his control. The FBI transferred cryptocurrency valued at approximately $925,426 into US government-controlled wallets. Approximately $165,582 in US dollars remained in the Kraken account because the money could not be transferred into a government cryptocurrency wallet, the affidavit said.
The investigation began after Yaroch contacted a Justice Department employee on July 28 and requested a private meeting. When the two met the following day, Yaroch reportedly broke down and admitted that he had made poor decisions involving cryptocurrency wallets.
Yaroch said the shame was “eating him up inside” and that he wanted to “get it off his chest,” according to the affidavit. The Justice Department employee advised him to obtain a lawyer and report his conduct immediately. Yaroch then contacted FBI headquarters and disclosed that he had mishandled the cryptocurrency.
Yaroch used AI to aid his scheme
During a search of Yaroch’s home in Ashburn, Virginia, agents seized a hardware wallet, computers, phones, and a handwritten slip containing presumed cryptocurrency seed phrases. Investigators also reviewed conversations on his phone in which he asked ChatGPT how to invest or spend $1 million and how to relocate to an EU country.
The phone contained details of a round-trip family visit to Portugal scheduled for September. Agents also found documents granting Portuguese lawyers power of attorney to obtain a local tax identification number for Yaroch. He told investigators that he was not planning to move money into Portugal and that the family trip had been arranged to meet friends.
The FBI placed Yaroch on administrative leave on July 29, dismissed him on July 31, and arrested him at his home later that day after the cryptocurrency was transferred to government wallets.
The bureau said it had acted immediately after learning of the allegations and added that “this conduct is not tolerated at the FBI.” No attorney for Yaroch was listed in the court records reviewed by US media.
