FBI Agent Charged With Stealing Nearly $1 Million in Crypto

A former FBI supervisory special agent has been charged with stealing nearly $1 million in cryptocurrency from wallets tied to FBI counterintelligence investigations. Patrick Steven Yaroch, who held a Top Secret security clearance, allegedly accessed FBI systems to obtain cryptocurrency wallet seed phrases connected to investigations involving an unnamed foreign adversary.

According to investigators, Yaroch memorized the recovery phrases and transferred funds into accounts under his control about 10 times. The holdings eventually grew to about $1 million. During searches of his home and devices, investigators recovered a Trezor hardware wallet and handwritten cryptocurrency seed phrases.

The agent's crimes were discovered when he broke down in tears during a meeting with another FBI employee. Investigators found evidence of a planned family trip to Portugal, power-of-attorney documents related to Portugal, and previously unreported foreign travel.