A former FBI supervisory agent stole roughly $1 million in cryptocurrency and consulted ChatGPT on how to use the funds and relocate to Europe.
Federal investigators charged Patrick Steven Yaroch with interstate transportation of stolen goods and receipt of stolen goods after he allegedly confessed to stealing cryptocurrency from wallets linked to FBI investigations between late 2024 and early 2025.
Former FBI Agent In Custody
Yaroch allegedly stole the cryptocurrency from wallets described in court documents as โadversarial cryptocurrency accounts.โ The former agent was arrested on Friday after confessing to the theft.
According to an affidavit filed on August 1, Yaroch discovered private keys that allowed him to access and transfer funds from the wallets to himself. The transfers were completed through a dozen transfers between late 2024 and early 2025.
Prosecutors stated that Yaroch contacted an employee of the United States Department of Justice and requested a meeting to discuss personal matters. However, during the meeting, held at FBI headquarters, he broke down and admitted to accessing the FBIโs systems to obtain the cryptocurrency.
โDuring the afternoon of July 28, 2026, Yaroch contacted DOJ Employee 1 via Signal and requested to meet to discuss personal matters. Upon meeting DOJ Employee 1 at FBI headquarters, Yaroch immediately started to break down as he told his story.โ
Yaroch allegedly told the DOJ employee he had made โsome very poor decisions related to cryptocurrency wallets.โ He added that he was frustrated because he was โunable to do more to stop people connected to an adversarial nation from using cryptocurrency.โ However, prosecutors have alleged he transferred the assets for his personal benefit outside authorized seizure or forfeiture processes, and mixed the cryptocurrency with his personal funds. Yarochโs crypto holdings eventually totaled nearly $1 million, and investigators searching his home seized a Trezor hardware wallet and handwritten seed phrases.
They also discovered $188,570 in a Kraken account, including $166,000 in USD, $18,000 in USDC, and small holdings of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Yaroch had also transferred $1.02 million into a Suilend account on July 23.
ChatGPT Conversations
Investigators stated that Yaroch turned to ChatGPT to figure out how to use the funds, including questions about how he could invest a million dollars and maximize profits and returns. He also asked the AI about leaving the US and settling in a European country.
Investigators also discovered queries regarding visa requirements and an email draft about job opportunities in Greece. They also discovered details of a planned trip to Portugal, related power-of-attorney documents, and evidence of unreported foreign travel.
When presented with the details, Yaroch said he wasnโt planning to funnel money to Portugal, and that his family had planned a trip to the country to meet friends. The complaint states, โFBI WF Agents mentioned to Yaroch that they located the power of attorney forms for Portugal. Yaroch stated he was not planning to funnel money into Portugal. Yaroch told FBI WF Agents that his family had a trip planned to Portugal in September 2026 to meet friends. Yaroch realized he might not be able to attend the trip but stated he hoped his wife and child would still go on the trip.โ
Crypto Under Scrutiny
The incident comes at a time when crypto is under intense scrutiny after a wave of security incidents. Coldcard was hit by a major exploit after a 2021 firmware bug bypassed its hardware walletโs random number generator, allowing hackers to remotely drain $89 million in Bitcoin.
Ostiumโs off-chain infrastructure was also compromised after an attacker manipulated BTC-USD price reports, draining 23.75 million in USDC from its liquidity vault.
However, Yarochโs case is one of alleged insider theft by a supervisory special agent working at the FBI headquartersโ Counterintelligence and Espionage Division.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
