Former FBI agent stole $2.5M in crypto to fund new life abroad
He had his eyes set on a vineyard in Portugal.
Portugal. By Shutterstock
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- Patrick Steven Yaroch pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $2.5 million in cryptocurrency from FBI-linked wallets.
- Prosecutors say he used credentials tied to 35 FBI investigations and made about 100 fraudulent transfers.
- Yaroch allegedly laundered the funds and used them for debts, travel, and a planned vineyard in Portugal.
- The Justice Department says his actions compromised FBI methods and could carry up to 20 years in prison.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
An ex-FBI agent involved in investigating crypto crime has pleaded guilty to stealing millions in cryptocurrency from wallets controlled by nation-state hackers and other victims.
From February 2025 to July 2026, 37-year-old Patrick Steven Yaroch of Ashburn worked in the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division, focusing on an unnamed adversarial nation-state.
Yaroch had access to FBI systems containing login credentials for crypto wallets the agency had collected as part of its investigations. He used his position to steal cryptocurrency from various adversarial nation-states, as well as from at least one wallet that the FBI created for an operation.
Allegedly, the suspect conducted approximately 100 fraudulent transfers using credentials associated with 35 separate FBI investigations. In total, he was able to wire $2,474,380 in fraudulent proceeds.
After Yaroch moved the stolen cryptocurrency, he exchanged it for a different cryptocurrency. He then laundered the cryptocurrency through additional financial transactions to hide the source of the funds.
Yaroch used the illicit proceeds to cover his debts, including credit cards, car payments, and other loans. He also used the money to fund a new, lavish lifestyle in Portugal, where he intended to buy a vineyard. He bought plane tickets for himself, his wife, and his child to travel to Portugal in September 2026.
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However, in July, Yaroch decided to come clean and confessed his crimes to an employee of the US Department of Justice. According to prosecutors, Yaroch said that it was “eating him up inside” and that he wanted to “get it off his chest.”
“His actions deprived FBI employees of their ability to carry out their functions to protect public safety and national security. Yaroch’s actions also compromised FBI sources and methods used in foreign intelligence collection and criminal investigations,” the Justice Department says in a statement about Yaroch’s actions.
Yaroch is scheduled to be sentenced on March 4th, 2027. If found guilty, he faces up to 20 years in prison for wire fraud and money laundering.
