Patrick Steven Yaroch, a former FBI supervisory agent, pleaded guilty to stealing $1 million in cryptocurrency between late 2024 and early 2025. He used internal systems to obtain access to wallet credentials associated with a country seen as adversarial, transferring the funds to his own crypto accounts. A portion of the stolen assets was deposited into Suilend to generate returns.
Yaroch reported the incident himself in May, and he was placed on administrative leave the next week. Later, he was fired and taken into custody. Law enforcement agents retrieved devices, seed phrases, and a Trezor wallet from his residence in Virginia.
According to court records, Yaroch asked ChatGPT for investment advice on how to best spend or use $1 million for maximum profit. The AI suggested a slower lifestyle involving vineyards or agricultural projects in areas like Cilento or the Dão region of Portugal. This detail was included in the same filing that listed the charges against him.
Earlier incidents of cryptocurrency theft by federal workers
Yaroch is the most recent example of a federal employee involved in crypto-related theft. Force stole approximately $700,000 in Bitcoin and was sentenced to six and a half years in prison. Around the same time, US Secret Service agent Shaun W. Bridges pilfered $350,000 in BTC and received a six-year prison term. Both incidents were connected to the Silk Road investigation.