TheBlock
Former FBI agent Patrick Steven Yaroch, 37, pleaded guilty on Thursday to one count each of wire fraud and money laundering for stealing roughly $2.47 million in cryptocurrency from wallets connected to FBI investigations. Beginning no later than December 2024, he searched FBI databases, including a classified one, for wallet credentials and made about 100 transfers out of at least 79 wallets tied to 35 separate investigations. Individual thefts ranged from 81 cents to more than $580,000, and each count carries up to 20 years in prison, with sentencing set for March 4, 2027.
Why it matters
The case is a direct breach of the chain of custody the FBI relies on when it seizes crypto from suspects. Most of the wallets Yaroch drained belonged to people under FBI investigation, and some were controlled by two adversarial nation states the filing does not name; NBC News reported in August that the adversarial nation in the original complaint was Russia.
It is also the second major insider-theft case around US government-held crypto this year. John Daghita was indicted on 15 counts in March over the alleged theft of more than $46 million in crypto from the US Marshals Service, with his arraignment set for Nov. 12 in Alexandria.
Market impact
Under the plea agreement, Yaroch must pay at least $2.4 million in restitution and faces a forfeiture judgment of at least $2.4 million, including 17,990.67 USDC and about 1.38 million SUI seized on July 31, worth roughly $1.2 million at current prices. The laundering trail he admitted to, running bitcoin through a privacy swap, converting to Monero and Solana, then routing funds through a Sui wallet to his Kraken account, illustrates both the appeal and the traceability of mixed on-chain paths. As federal agencies hold growing amounts of seized crypto, custody controls and insider access are becoming a repeated point of failure.
Frequently asked questions
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How did the ex-FBI agent access the crypto wallets?
Patrick Yaroch searched FBI databases, including a classified one, for crypto credentials tied to investigations, then made about 100 transfers out of at least 79 wallets connected to 35 FBI cases.
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What penalties does Yaroch face for the thefts?
He pleaded guilty to one count each of wire fraud and money laundering, each carrying up to 20 years in prison. Sentencing is set for March 4, 2027, with at least $2.4 million in restitution and a matching forfeiture judgment.
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Which cryptocurrencies did Yaroch use to launder the funds?
He ran stolen bitcoin through a swap service with privacy features, converted some to Monero and Solana, and moved funds through a Sui wallet to his Kraken account before paying off personal debts.
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Did the stolen wallets include any government-of-interest targets?
Yes. Most wallets belonged to people under FBI investigation, and some were controlled by two adversarial nation states the filing does not name. NBC News reported the adversarial nation in the original complaint was Russia.
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Are there other recent insider theft cases involving seized US crypto?
Yes. John Daghita was indicted on 15 counts in March over the alleged theft of more than $46 million in crypto from the US Marshals Service, and his arraignment is set for Nov. 12 in Alexandria.
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