FBI Agent Fired and Arrested Over Alleged $900K Cryptocurrency Heist
A federal agent has been fired and arrested after allegedly stealing over $900,000 in cryptocurrency from accounts monitored by the FBI during a national security investigation.
The accused, Patrick Steven Yaroch, a supervisory agent based in Washington, D.C., accessed the digital funds using his internal FBI access. He transferred the cryptocurrency to his own personal account, claiming government inaction regarding the misuse of crypto accounts frustrated him.
According to court records, Yaroch used artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT for advice on how to leave the US and become an EU citizen with a large sum of money, but he ultimately admitted to withdrawing funds from monitored accounts using passcodes obtained during the investigation.