Former FBI agent pleads guilty to $2.47 million crypto theft

Former FBI agent Patrick Steven Yaroch pleaded guilty on November 5, 2026, to wire fraud and money laundering in a cryptocurrency theft scheme prosecutors say involved about $2.47 million and credentials tied to 35 FBI investigations. Yaroch, 37, of Ashburn, Virginia, entered the plea in federal court in Alexandria. Prosecutors said he made about 100 fraudulent transfers using cryptocurrency wallet credentials available through FBI systems. The stolen funds came from wallets connected to investigations, including wallets associated with suspected criminal subjects and foreign adversaries, as well as at least one wallet the bureau created for an operation. According to prosecutors, Yaroch converted some of the cryptocurrency into other digital assets and moved the funds through further transactions to conceal their origin. He used some of the money to pay credit-card bills, car payments and other debts. The case’s final total is substantially higher than the roughly $1 million suspected in earlier reports, which preceded the plea and fuller account of the alleged scheme. Yaroch worked in the FBI’s Boston Division from 2017 to early 2025, then moved to its Counterintelligence...