FBI agent charged over crypto theft from accounts tied to overseas targets

Former FBI supervisory agent Patrick Steven Yaroch has been charged with interstate transportation of stolen goods and receipt of stolen goods after allegedly transferring more than $900,000 from cryptocurrency accounts tied to criminal targets overseas into his personal wallet. He admitted the conduct to a Justice Department employee, saying he was frustrated that he could not do more to disrupt the target’s use of cryptocurrency, and later told FBI personnel he wanted to come forward because he had screwed up. Yaroch, who was fired last week, has been described as fully cooperative with federal officials and allowed agents to use his biometric information to unlock his devices. He said he researched cryptocurrency and memorized passphrases to complete the transfers, which began in late 2024 and occurred roughly 10 to 12 times. He said he did not know the exact total because the funds were mixed with his personal assets. A July 30 search warrant authorized FBI searches of his person, home and vehicle. Investigators also found ChatGPT logs on his phone in which he asked about using a bucket of money of around $1 million to move abroad and become a resident or citizen of an EU country. The probe also identified a September trip by Yaroch and his family to Portugal, which he said was to meet friends. According to two officials familiar with the matter, the adversarial targets were linked to Russia, NBC News reported.