Crypto: Ex-FBI agent pleads guilty to theft of $2.47 million

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From 2017 to early 2025, Patrick S. Yaroch worked in Boston on a team investigating an unnamed foreign state. He then joined the counter-espionage division, with access to the systems keeping the data allowing control of certain crypto wallets.

The diversions began no later than December 2024. They targeted wallets controlled by investigative targets or adversary state actors, but also at least one wallet created by the FBI for an operation. The filing details approximately 100 fraudulent transfers using information from 35 separate investigations.

He then exchanged the assets for other cryptocurrencies and multiplied the transactions to conceal their origin. Part of the funds was used to repay his debts.

He was also preparing to set up abroad. After questioning ChatGPT about his investments and life in the European Union, he gave Portuguese lawyers power of attorney, on June 15, 2026, to obtain a tax number. According to the Ministry of Justice, the chatbot suggested the purchase of a vineyard in Portugal.

On July 29, 2026, Patrick S. Yaroch admitted his actions to a former colleague, then reported them to the FBI. He then mentioned around ten transfers and an amount less than a million dollars, well below the balance sheet now retained.

Two days later, investigators seized, among other things, a Trezor hardware wallet, three passports and recovery sentences. They also found assets on Kraken and on the Suilend lending protocol, accessible via the Slush application. According to the affidavit, he explained that he chose this service because he liked its teardrop logo. A priori, this did not convince the American authorities...

Indeed, that day, approximately $925,426 in cryptocurrencies were transferred to government wallets.

The sentence is due to be handed down on March 4 and the accused faces up to twenty years in prison. Beyond financial losses, authorities recognize damage to investigations as well as to the FBI's sources and methods.

An editorial article. Le Journal du Coin, the first French-speaking news media on cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, and blockchain protocols.

Machine-translated from French