FBI agent accused of stealing $1 million in cryptocurrency
An FBI agent named Patrick Steven Yaroch, employed since 2017 and working in the counterintelligence and espionage division, was arrested after allegedly transferring approximately $1 million in cryptocurrency to his personal wallet. According to an FBI affidavit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Yaroch was dissatisfied with the FBI’s inability or unwillingness to disrupt certain foreign cryptocurrency accounts.
Yaroch reportedly used his top-secret security clearance to access government databases, memorize passphrases linked to adversarial accounts, and executed 10 to 12 transfers into his own wallet. These transactions began in late 2024 or early 2025 while he was stationed in Boston. He admitted in an interview that he “f***ed up” but claimed he did not interact with the foreign accounts or spend the stolen funds. Still, his online activity indicated he researched how to invest and spend a million dollars, and he planned to move to Portugal, booking tickets and obtaining legal representation ther.
Further examination revealed Yaroch had traveled to Portugal, Germany, and Grenada without reporting these trips as required. He also contacted an anonymous Justice Department employee via Signal, confessing that his actions were “eating him up inside.” Following this, the FBI raided his home in Virginia, seizing electronics, passports, and the Portuguese legal documents he possessed. Yaroch was promptly arrested and fired.
He faces charges related to interstate transportation of stolen goods, securities, and monies, and receipt of stolen property. His case is part of broader concerns about corruption within the U.S. intelligence community, with recent arrests like that of a CIA official accused of stealing over $40 million.
An FBI agent who had been with the bureau since 2017 was arrested Friday and charged with transferring around $1 million in cryptocurrency to his personal wallet.
The FBI’s arrest affidavit, which it filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on Saturday, describes Patrick Steven Yaroch as a supervisory special agent in the counterintelligence and espionage division. Yaroch allegedly grew dissatisfied that the FBI was unwilling or unable to disrupt an unnamed adversarial nation’s cryptocurrency accounts.
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According to the FBI, Yaroch decided to “take matters into his own hands.” Yaroch used his top-secret security clearance to log on to government databases and memorize the passphrases associated with adversarial accounts. He then allegedly initiated 10 to 12 transfers into his own wallet, amounting to around $1 million.
The transfers began in late 2024 or early 2025, while Yaroch was assigned to the FBI’s Boston field office. Yaroch allegedly confessed in an interview with agents that he “f***ed up.”
Yaroch said he never interacted with anyone associated with the foreign accounts, and the FBI determined he did not spend any of the funds he siphoned from those accounts.
Yet Yaroch’s ChatGPT history reveals he allegedly researched how far he could stretch $1 million.
“If I had a million dollars, how would you suggest investing it/spending it to maximize profit and return,” Yaroch asked in one instance.
“At 37, with a young family, a goal of potentially retiring around 40, and a clear interest in eventually building a slower-living vineyard/agricultural lifestyle in places like Cilento or Portugal’s Dão region,” the artificial intelligence tool responded.
The FBI determined that Yaroch booked round-trip tickets to Portugal for September. The agency also found a power-of-attorney document authorizing Portuguese lawyers to represent him before the country’s tax and customs authority.
Yaroch allegedly researched job openings in Europe. The FBI investigation also found that he did not report previous travel to Portugal, Germany, and Grenada as required by the agency’s rules.
The FBI’s investigation came about when Yaroch approached an anonymous Justice Department employee over the messaging app Signal on Tuesday. The FBI claims the two set up a meeting for the next day, where Yaroch confessed that his actions were “eating him up inside.”
The agency questioned Yaroch throughout the week before securing a warrant to raid his Ashburn, Virginia, home on Friday. It seized the Portuguese legal document along with Yaroch’s electronics and personal and diplomatic passports. The FBI arrested and fired Yaroch the same day.
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Yaroch is charged with interstate transportation of stolen goods, securities, and monies, and receipt of stolen goods, securities, and monies.
Yaroch’s arrest is the latest in a string of corruption allegations roiling the U.S. intelligence community. In June, authorities arrested CIA official David Rush and accused him of stealing more than $40 million. Rush allegedly converted the proceeds into gold bars, luxury watches, and other valuables.
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