Former FBI agent charged with theft of nearly $1 million in crypto

A former FBI supervisory agent is on trial after stealing nearly $1 million in cryptocurrency. Patrick Steven Yaroch abused his internal access to the bureau’s systems to transfer cryptocurrency to his own wallets. Court documents made public on Monday shed light on the case.

At a glance:

• Former FBI agent Patrick Steven Yaroch made more than ten unauthorised transfers of crypto to his own wallets.
• He is said to have become frustrated by the government’s lack of action against misuse of the crypto accounts in question.
• Yaroch has been dismissed, arrested last week, and is now facing criminal prosecution.

Internal access abused for crypto transfers

At the time of the events, Yaroch worked in an FBI national security team focusing on an unnamed hostile power. During that work, he came across cryptocurrency linked to a person in that country. According to a statement in the criminal file, he became frustrated because he could do little through official channels to disrupt the use of those crypto accounts.

He turned that frustration into action: using his internal bureau access, he obtained login credentials for the wallets in question and then made around ten unauthorised transfers. This began in late 2024. He himself estimates that he took less than $1 million in crypto. He then placed part of the stolen funds on the DeFi platform Suilend to earn interest on them.

Dismissal, arrest and charges

As soon as the case came to light, the FBI dismissed Yaroch. His arrest followed last week. According to the criminal indictment, he faces two charges: interstate transport of stolen property and receipt of stolen property.

The case shows that even people within law enforcement agencies are not immune to crypto theft. Earlier, we wrote about an attack wave in which nearly 449 Bitcoin was stolen and about a kidnapping in which French crypto millionaires were held hostage for more than 52 hours. It illustrates how crypto attracts criminals both from outside and from within.