FBI Agent Accused of Stealing $1M in Crypto Uses ChatGPT for Advice

A former FBI supervisory agent has been charged with stealing roughly $1 million in cryptocurrency and using AI-assisted advice to manage his ill-gotten gains.

Patrick Steven Yaroch, a supervisory special agent working at the FBI headquarters' Counterintelligence and Espionage Division, allegedly accessed private keys that allowed him to transfer funds from wallets linked to FBI investigations between late 2024 and early 2025.

The transfers totaled nearly $1 million, which investigators later seized along with a Trezor hardware wallet and handwritten seed phrases during a search of Yaroch's home.

Yaroch also used the stolen cryptocurrency to transfer $188,570 into a Kraken account, including holdings in USDC, Bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies.

He further admitted to contacting ChatGPT for guidance on how to use the funds, asking questions about investing and maximizing profits, as well as seeking advice on relocating to Europe.