FBI Agent Arrested for Stealing $1 Million in Cryptocurrency from Counterintelligence Evidence
An FBI agent has been arrested and charged with stealing $1 million in cryptocurrency from evidence related to a counterintelligence investigation involving a hostile state.
The agent, Patrick Yaroch, had access to the evidence as a Supervisory Special Agent in the FBI's headquarters' counterintelligence and espionage unit. Between February 2025 and July 31, 2026, he allegedly memorized seed phrases for cryptocurrency wallets linked to the investigation and transferred the assets to his personal wallet.
The theft occurred roughly 10 to 12 times, with Yaroch using the stolen funds to mix them with his own assets and invest in the DeFi protocol Suilend via the Slush app. He told a former colleague that he was unhappy with the FBI's inability to freeze the accounts, leading him to 'take matters into his own hands.'
The investigation began when Yaroch confessed to the theft out of guilt, and agents subsequently seized an iPhone 17 Pro, Mac desktop computer, Trezor hardware wallet, and other devices. The FBI found about $1.09 million in accounts controlled by Yaroch and transferred $925,426 to government crypto wallets.