Former FBI Agent Pleads Guilty to Stealing $2.47M in Crypto From Bureau Files

Former FBI agent Patrick Steven Yaroch pleaded guilty in Alexandria federal court to wire fraud and money laundering after stealing approximately $2.47 million in digital assets using credentials collected during agency probes, the Department of Justice announced on Nov. 5, 2026 ¹. Yaroch, 37, of Ashburn, Virginia, faces a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for March 4, 2027 ¹.

According to prosecutors, Yaroch worked at the FBI Boston Division between 2017 and early 2025 focusing on an adversarial nation state, before transferring to the Counterintelligence and Espionage Division ¹. Starting no later than December 2024, Yaroch leveraged his clearance to access systems containing wallet credentials gathered in investigative operations ¹. He subsequently executed roughly 100 illicit transfers across 35 independent bureau inquiries, draining funds from targets, foreign nation-state operators, and an operational wallet established directly by the bureau ¹. The plea agreement's statement of facts confirmed that his actions compromised foreign intelligence sources, investigative methods, and ongoing operations against criminal organizations ¹. Similar breaches underscore broader government challenges regarding secure digital asset custody, as seen when regulators claw back millions in crypto fraud and theft cases across jurisdictions.

Laundering and Asset Recovery

Prosecutors stated Yaroch swapped the stolen funds across various cryptocurrencies, settled personal credit card balances and car loans, and drafted plans to relocate overseas ¹. After querying ChatGPT regarding European Union residency options, Yaroch granted power of attorney to Portuguese attorneys to secure a local tax identification number and planned to purchase a vineyard in Portugal ¹.

Yaroch turned himself in on July 29 after disclosing his conduct to a former colleague at the Justice Department's National Security Division, later telling bureau officials he acted after growing frustrated that investigators "could not or would not act" against adversary targets ¹. While Yaroch initially admitted to diverting under $1 million across 10 to 12 transactions, a subsequent search of his residence uncovered a Trezor hardware wallet, seed phrases, and three passports ¹. Investigators found roughly $188,600 across U.S. dollars, $USDC, $BTC, and Squid (QUID) within his Kraken account, alongside $933,800 deposited in the Suilend protocol on the Sui network ¹. Federal authorities recovered roughly $925,000 from these balances, placing the capital into government-controlled wallets ¹.