Ex-FBI Agent Admits $2.47M Crypto Theft Linked to 35 Cases
Patrick Yaroch pleaded guilty to stealing cryptocurrency using wallet credentials from FBI investigations. Sentencing is scheduled for March 4, 2027.
Key Notes
- Patrick Yaroch admitted wire fraud and money laundering involving about $2.47 million in cryptocurrency.
- Prosecutors say roughly 100 fraudulent transfers used credentials tied to 35 FBI investigations.
- Sentencing is scheduled for March 4, 2027, and he faces up to 20 years in prison.
A former FBI counterintelligence agent has pleaded guilty to stealing about $2.47 million in cryptocurrency using wallet credentials connected to 35 investigations, turning information collected by the bureau into a means of personal enrichment.
Patrick Steven Yaroch, 37, of Ashburn, Virginia, admitted wire fraud and money laundering in federal court in Alexandria on November 5, the Justice Department said. Some of the stolen money belonged to financial-crime victims, The Washington Post reported Friday.
Investigative Access Enabled the Transfers
Prosecutors said Yaroch made approximately 100 fraudulent transfers and obtained $2,474,380.66 in illicit proceeds. The activity began no later than December 2024 and reached wallets controlled by investigation subjects and adversarial nation-state actors, as well as at least one wallet created for an FBI operation.
The Record reported that the transfers involved 79 wallets, including accounts associated with at least two adversarial countries and 10 crime victims. Those details underline how the theft extended beyond a single investigation or one suspected criminal.
Yaroch’s earlier account, recorded in an FBI affidavit filed in August, described searching bureau holdings and memorizing wallet recovery information. Possession of recovery phrases can allow someone to regain control of a wallet, making access to that information a critical security boundary.
A July Disclosure Led to His Arrest
The affidavit says Yaroch contacted a Justice Department employee he knew on July 28 and met him the next day. He disclosed that he had transferred cryptocurrency to himself and later submitted an online report to the FBI’s security division.
His account at the time described roughly 10 transfers into a personal wallet holding about $1 million. The much larger sum admitted in the guilty plea reflects the broader scope subsequently established by investigators.
On July 31, agents searched his home and, with his consent, transferred approximately $925,426 in cryptocurrency from accounts he controlled into government wallets. The affidavit separately identified about $165,582 in US dollars remaining in his Kraken account because those funds could not be transferred to a government crypto wallet.
Those amounts describe the recovery at that stage of the investigation. The plea announcement did not provide an updated total recovered. The FBI fired Yaroch on July 31, the same day he was arrested.
Debt Payments and Plans for Portugal
The Justice Department said Yaroch swapped stolen assets into other cryptocurrencies and made further transfers to conceal their origins. About $93,082 passed into one of his accounts between November 25, 2025, and January 13, 2026, with money moved among accounts used for credit-card bills, car payments and other debts.
The affidavit also describes ChatGPT conversations about investment returns and moving to Europe. Investigators found a June power of attorney authorizing Portuguese lawyers to obtain a tax identification number for him, alongside a September travel booking. The documents describe preparations, rather than a completed relocation.
Sentencing Is Scheduled for March
Yaroch is due to be sentenced on March 4, 2027, and faces up to 20 years in prison. The judge will determine the sentence under federal guidelines and other statutory factors.
Prosecutors said his conduct also compromised investigations, sources and methods used against criminal groups and foreign adversaries. The consequences therefore extend beyond the cryptocurrency taken, into the bureau’s ability to protect active operations.
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