A former FBI counterintelligence supervisor, Patrick Yaroch, has admitted to stealing over $2.4 million in cryptocurrency from adversarial nations, financial crime victims, and others. Yaroch, who was arrested this summer, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money-laundering in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia. He faces a maximum prison term of 20 years at his sentencing, scheduled for March.
Federal prosecutors revealed that Yaroch accessed classified records to obtain security credentials, allowing him to steal crypto from state actors of two adversarial nations and subjects of 35 FBI investigations. Some of the stolen funds belonged to at least 10 victims of financial crimes. The thefts were described as "indiscriminate," with transactions ranging from 81 cents to $580,000. Yaroch admitted to approximately 100 fraudulent transactions over a year-and-a-half period ending in July.
Yaroch used a portion of the stolen funds to pay off personal debts as he planned to retire to Portugal. Court records show he asked ChatGPT for advice on relocating to an EU country with around $1 million. The AI chatbot recommended purchasing a Portuguese vineyard, citing his interest in a slower-living agricultural lifestyle. Yaroch was arrested in late July after self-reporting his activities to the FBI and Justice Department.
Prosecutors initially charged Yaroch with lesser offenses but later agreed to a plea deal involving more serious charges after the investigation uncovered additional victims and stolen amounts. Yaroch’s defense attorney described him as "cooperative and contrite," while prosecutors noted he was cooperative "at times." Yaroch’s attorney did not respond to requests for comment after the hearing.