· ai-devtools
FBI agent pleads guilty to stealing $2.4 million in crypto from nation-state hackers
A senior FBI official pleaded guilty to stealing millions in cryptocurrency from wallets controlled by nation-state hackers and theft victims.
Patrick Steven Yaroch, 37, is facing up to 20 years in prison on wire fraud and money laundering charges after admitting to using his position on an FBI investigative squad to steal more than $2.4 million in cryptocurrency to cover his debts. Yaroch was an FBI Supervisory Special Agent who worked at FBI Headquarters within the Counterintelligence and Espionage Division — with his work focusing on an unnamed nation-state. He used his seniority to access FBI systems that had the codes and passwords necessary to take cryptocurrency from at least two adversarial nations as well as 10 victims of crimes.
In total, he conducted 100 transfers from 79 wallets starting in December 2024. The wallets were connected to 35 different FBI investigations. Yaroch had hundreds of thousands of dollars in credit card debt, loans and car payments.
