A former FBI supervisory special agent has pleaded guilty to stealing roughly $2.47 million in cryptocurrency from wallets connected to dozens of FBI investigations, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Patrick Steven Yaroch, 37, of Ashburn, Virginia, admitted to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. Prosecutors said he used credentials found in FBI systems to move funds out of wallets tied to 35 investigations. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 4, 2027.

Guilty plea in Virginia

Federal prosecutors said Yaroch acknowledged taking crypto from wallets associated with FBI cases and using the proceeds for his own benefit. Each of the two charges he pleaded guilty to carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The case was filed in the Eastern District of Virginia. As part of the plea, the government described a pattern of thefts that stretched across many separate wallets and case files rather than a single incident.

How prosecutors say the thefts were carried out

According to the filing, the scheme began no later than December 2024, when Yaroch searched FBI databases, including a classified system, for cryptocurrency credentials. Prosecutors said he then used that information to make about 100 transfers from at least 79 wallets.

Those wallets were linked to 35 FBI investigations. Most belonged to people who were under FBI investigation, while some were controlled by two adversarial nation states that were not identified in the court filing. Prosecutors also said Yaroch took funds from at least 10 wallets belonging to victims in other FBI cases and made at least one transfer from a wallet the FBI had funded for an operation.

The filing described Yaroch as indiscriminate, with individual thefts ranging from as little as 81 cents to more than $580,000. After moving funds, prosecutors said, he repeatedly checked FBI systems to see whether the thefts had been detected.

Debt, transfers and personal spending

Before the scheme began, Yaroch had substantial personal debt, according to prosecutors, including more than $100,000 in loans in 2024 and over $45,000 in credit card balances. The government wrote that he stole the cryptocurrency out of frustration, while arguing he should not be seen as a Robin Hood figure.

In one example outlined in the filing, Yaroch used credentials from a criminal case file to drain two wallets into his own bitcoin wallet. Prosecutors said he then moved the funds through multiple exchanges and across wallets and accounts, including toward a Lexus purchased with the proceeds.

Between Nov. 25, 2025, and Jan. 13, 2026, prosecutors said he transferred about $93,082 into a TD Bank account to reduce debts. That total included about $30,176 in credit card payments and $20,000 put toward the Lexus.

Role at the FBI and what comes next

Yaroch joined the FBI's Boston Division in 2017. From February 2025 until July 31, 2026, he served as a supervisory special agent in the Counterintelligence and Espionage Division at FBI headquarters.

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. He also agreed to forfeit 17,990.67 USDC, about 1.38 million SUI, and the contents of several financial accounts.

The plea deal also addresses possible future media proceeds: if Yaroch earns money from a documentary or similar project, those funds must go to the U.S. government, and any such work must be submitted to the FBI for review before publication. The next confirmed step in the case is his sentencing hearing on March 4, 2027.

Source: www.theblock.co