Former FBI agent charged with stealing nearly $1m in crypto from Russian target

A former FBI supervisory special agent, Patrick Steven Yaroch, has been charged in Virginia for allegedly stealing nearly $1 million in cryptocurrency from wallets linked to a Russian investigative target. Yaroch, who worked in the FBI's Boston Division and later at headquarters, reportedly became frustrated that the FBI was not disrupting the target's cryptocurrency use and decided to "take matters into his own hands." He allegedly used internal FBI systems to obtain seed phrases, created a personal cryptocurrency wallet, and transferred funds approximately 10 to 12 times between January 2025 and July 2026. Yaroch admitted his actions to a Justice Department employee, stating the shame was "eating him up inside." Investigators found he had moved approximately $1.02 million into a decentralized lending platform and had used AI to research investing and relocating to an EU country. The FBI placed Yaroch on administrative leave, dismissed him, and arrested him on July 31 after transferring approximately $925,426 in cryptocurrency to government-controlled wallets.