An FBI counterintelligence agent has admitted stealing about $1 million worth of cryptocurrency from a Russian criminal target. He allegedly said he became “frustrated” that the FBI “could not or would not act against adversarial cryptocurrency accounts.”
The agent, Patrick Yaroch, informed investigators that he became frustrated with the FBI and had been in possession of the cryptocurrency since last year, according to a criminal complaint. Yaroch worked in the FBI’s Boston Division from approximately 2017 to 2025.
Prosecutors charged him with interstate transportation of stolen goods and receipt of stolen goods after he told a Justice Department employee what he had done, according to court documents. The prosecutors have also said he could face additional charges.
Yaroch, 37, allegedly told FBI personnel that he had decided to “take matters into his own hands” and “said that he went into FBI systems and found keys needed to transfer money from wallets to himself.”
A search of the FBI agent’s home in Virginia confirmed the thefts
According to an FBI affidavit, he made up to a dozen transfers totaling just under $1 million from a Russian target, sources told CNN. However, agents recovered only $925,426 after they searched his home in Ashburn, Virginia.
Authorities also discovered a hardware wallet, handwritten seed phrases, and documents indicating he had been considering a move overseas, including paperwork related to Portugal, during the search of Yaroch’s home.
The complaint also refers to his recent trips to Germany and Portugal, saying he “conducted unreported foreign travel on at least two occasions” and did not report either trip to the FBI “which is a security requirement.” Yaroch claimed to the FBI that he had no plans to transfer any of the money to Portugal.
Yaroch reportedly began discussing the cryptocurrency theft with coworkers, claiming that it was “eating him up inside” and that he needed to “get it off his chest.” In the end, he voluntarily filled out an online self-report form and visited with FBI staff to reveal what he had done.