ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A former FBI agent pleaded guilty on November 5, 2026, to wire fraud and money laundering for stealing about $2.47 million in cryptocurrency using credentials he took from FBI case files, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced.
Read the Justice Department release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/former-fbi-agent-pleads-guilty-cryptocurrency-theft
The Access, The Wallets, The Transfers
Patrick Steven Yaroch, 37, of Ashburn, worked at the FBI Boston Division from 2017 through early 2025 on an investigative squad focused on an adversarial nation state, the release stated.
From February 2025 to July 31, 2026, Yaroch worked in the FBI's Counterintelligence and Espionage Division, with access to FBI systems that contained cryptocurrency credentials the FBI had collected as part of its investigations, the release stated.
Beginning no later than December 2024, Yaroch used his position to steal cryptocurrency from wallets controlled by the subjects of various investigations or by adversarial nation state actors, and from at least one wallet the FBI created to use in an operation, the release stated.
Throughout the scheme, Yaroch conducted approximately 100 fraudulent transfers using credentials related to 35 separate FBI investigations, the release stated.
He illicitly gained approximately $2,474,380.66 in fraudulent proceeds, the release stated.
The Laundering, The Debts, The Portugal Plan
Once Yaroch moved the stolen cryptocurrency, he exchanged it for a different type of cryptocurrency, the release stated.
He then laundered the cryptocurrency through additional financial transactions to hide its source, nature and ownership, the release stated.
Between November 25, 2025, and January 13, 2026, Yaroch transferred approximately $93,082 to one of his accounts, then moved the funds between his other accounts, from which he sent payments to cover his debts, including credit cards, car payments and other loans, the release stated.
Yaroch also intended to use the fraudulent proceeds to finance a new life abroad, the release stated.
He asked ChatGPT how to maximize profit from investments and where to live in the European Union, the release stated.
Following ChatGPT's suggestion of buying a vineyard in Portugal, Yaroch gave power of attorney to lawyers in Portugal on June 15, 2026, to represent him before the Portuguese Tax and Customs Authority, register him, obtain his tax identification number and collect the password to access his finance portal, the release stated.
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He then made arrangements to travel to Portugal in September 2026, the release stated.
The Damage, The Plea, The Sentence
Yaroch's actions compromised multiple FBI investigations related to both criminal groups and nation state adversaries, the release stated.
His actions deprived FBI employees of their ability to carry out their functions to protect public safety and national security, the release stated.
His actions also compromised FBI sources and methods used in foreign intelligence collection and criminal investigations, the release stated.
U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles accepted the plea, the release stated.
Yaroch is scheduled to be sentenced on March 4, 2027, the release stated.
He faces up to 20 years in prison, the release stated.
The plea was announced by Theophani K. Stamos, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Daniel S. Wierzbicki, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office's Counterintelligence Division, the release stated.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathleen Robeson and Russell Carlberg are prosecuting the case, the release stated.
The National Security Cyber Section of the Justice Department's National Security Division and the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General Mid-Atlantic Region provided significant assistance, the release stated.
Related court documents are available through the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia under Case No. 1:26-CR-208, the release stated.
Sources
U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, "Former FBI agent pleads guilty to Cryptocurrency theft," November 5, 2026: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/former-fbi-agent-pleads-guilty-cryptocurrency-theft
Transparency notes
Published: Nov 6, 2026. No major post-publication update has been logged.
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