FBI Agent Accused of Stealing $1 Million in Seized Cryptocurrencies

A high-ranking Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent has been accused of stealing $1 million in seized cryptocurrencies from an 'adversarial nation.' Patrick Steven Yaroch, a Supervisory Special Agent at the FBI Headquarters Counterintelligence and Espionage Division, allegedly accessed FBI systems to transfer $925,426.07 in crypto to his personal wallets over numerous transactions.

The majority of the funds were held in stablecoins, with only a small amount in Bitcoin on Kraken. According to court documents, Yaroch confessed to a Department of Justice employee that he had made 'very poor decisions related to cryptocurrency wallets.'

Yaroch claimed he was frustrated with the FBI's inability or unwillingness to act against certain cryptocurrency accounts and chose to take matters into his own hands.

The agent, who had previously accessed sensitive information, has been charged with two felonies carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years each. He was fired from the FBI on July 31 and investigations are ongoing.