FBI Agent Arrested for Stealing Nearly $1M in Cryptocurrency
A high-ranking FBI agent has been arrested for allegedly stealing nearly $1 million in cryptocurrency from foreign accounts, according to court records. Patrick Steven Yaroch, a supervisory special agent with a Top Secret clearance, admitted to investigators that he accessed FBI systems to transfer funds to his personal wallets.
Yaroch claimed he was frustrated with the Bureau's perceived inability to disrupt adversarial assets and 'took matters into my own hands', citing this as the reason for his actions. He conducted these unauthorized transfers approximately 10-12 times, co-mingling the stolen cryptocurrency with his personal assets.
The investigation revealed that Yaroch was preparing to flee the US, having researched relocating a $1 million 'bucket of money' to the European Union, targeting Portugal specifically. He had also obtained power of attorney for lawyers in Lisbon and booked a family trip for September.