Former FBI Agent Pleads Guilty to Stealing $2.47 Million in Cryptocurrency

Former FBI agent Patrick Stephen Yaroch pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering. According to the US Department of Justice, he stole approximately $2.47 million in cryptocurrency using wallet credentials collected by the bureau during its investigations. The department announced this on Thursday, November 5.

The 37-year-old resident of Ashburn, Virginia, pleaded guilty in federal court in Alexandria. He faces up to 20 years in prison, with sentencing scheduled for March 4, 2027.

From 2017 until early 2025, Yaroch served in the Boston division of the FBI in a group handling a case against an unnamed 'hostile state,' then transferred to the counterintelligence and espionage division. There, he gained access to bureau systems where cryptocurrency credentials collected in investigations were stored, according to the prosecution.

About 100 Transfers Across 35 Cases

Yaroch could have started the thefts no later than December 2024. According to the investigation, he used access to withdraw cryptocurrency from wallets managed by subjects of other investigations, state actors, and at least one wallet created by the FBI for an operation. In total, he conducted about 100 fraudulent transfers related to 35 separate FBI investigations. He exchanged the stolen funds into other cryptocurrencies and conducted further transactions to conceal their origin. Part of the money went to pay off credit cards, car payments, and other loans.

According to the plea agreement, Yaroch's actions endangered several FBI investigations against criminal groups and state adversaries, as well as the sources and methods the bureau uses to gather foreign intelligence.

Vineyard in Portugal

Yaroch also planned a new life abroad. He asked ChatGPT how to maximize investment returns and where to live in the European Union. The chatbot suggested buying a vineyard in Portugal, after which Yaroch issued a power of attorney to Portuguese lawyers to obtain a tax identification number. He planned a trip to Portugal in September.

Confession and Seized Assets

Yaroch turned himself in. On July 29, he confessed to a former colleague in the Department of Justice's National Security Division that he had made 'very bad decisions' with cryptocurrency wallets, according to the FBI affidavit filed in the case. He then went to FBI headquarters himself and stated that he was disappointed that the bureau 'could not or would not act' against adversary cryptocurrency accounts and decided to 'take matters into his own hands.'

At that time, Yaroch spoke of 10–12 transfers totaling less than $1 million—significantly less than the figures mentioned in the plea agreement. Two days later, agents searched his home and seized a Trezor hardware wallet, three passports, and a sheet with recovery phrases. His account on the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken held about $188,600, mostly in US dollars and the stablecoin USDC, with smaller amounts in Squid (QUID) and Bitcoin. Another $933,800 was in Suilend, a lending protocol on the Sui blockchain, accessed through a Slush wallet. According to Yaroch, he chose Suilend 'simply because he liked that the logo was a drop of water.'

Agents transferred about $925,000 from these accounts to government-controlled wallets. Approximately $165,600 held on Kraken in US dollars could not be transferred in the same manner.