Former FBI agent admits to stealing $2.5m in crypto from government cases
Patrick Steven Yaroch executed about 100 unauthorized transfers across 35 federal investigations. He faces up to 20 years in prison.
Key takeaways
- 1Former FBI agent Patrick Steven Yaroch admitted to stealing $2,474,380.66 in crypto.
- 2The stolen assets were linked to 35 FBI investigations involving adversarial nations.
- 3Yaroch made about 100 fraudulent transfers by abusing internal FBI credentials.
- 4He faces up to 20 years in prison, with sentencing set for March 4, 2027.
A former Federal Bureau of Investigation counterintelligence agent pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering after stealing nearly $2.5 million in cryptocurrency from wallets targeted in federal cases, prosecutors said on Thursday.
Patrick Steven Yaroch, 37, admitted to executing about 100 fraudulent transfers across 35 separate FBI investigations, gaining $2,474,380.66 in proceeds. The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia said Yaroch used his position and specialized access to agency systems to siphon digital assets, which he then exchanged and laundered through financial transactions to hide their source and ownership.
The stolen funds were linked to active FBI inquiries into unidentified adversarial foreign nations and criminal organizations. Prosecutors said Yaroch's unauthorized transfers compromised those national security and law enforcement investigations.
Government agencies routinely monitor or seize digital tokens during criminal investigations, holding confiscated funds in secure custody accounts or tracking illicit wallets. Security protocols rely on strict access controls to prevent internal tampering or unauthorized transfers of confiscated tokens.
Yaroch used the stolen cryptocurrency to pay off personal debts and intended to use the remaining funds to finance a new life in Portugal, where he planned to buy a vineyard. The guilty plea expands on an earlier admission from August, when Yaroch acknowledged making unauthorized transfers involving approximately $1 million in digital assets.
Yaroch faces up to 20 years in prison for his actions. The US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has scheduled his sentencing for March 4, 2027.
Reported and edited by the YourKhabri desk under our editorial policy. Nothing here is investment advice.