Former FBI agent charged with stealing nearly $1m in crypto from Russian target

A former FBI supervisory special agent faces charges in Virginia for allegedly using bureau systems to steal nearly $1 million in cryptocurrency. Patrick Steven Yaroch, who held a Top Secret security clearance, is accused of targeting an individual from an adversarial nation, identified by NBC News as Russia.

Yaroch reportedly grew frustrated that the FBI could not or would not disrupt the target's cryptocurrency accounts. According to an affidavit, he searched internal FBI holdings for wallet credentials and memorized seed phrases to access the accounts. He then allegedly created a personal cryptocurrency wallet and transferred funds into it multiple times between January 2025 and July 2026.

He allegedly told FBI personnel that he had decided to "take matters into his own hands." Yaroch estimated the stolen sum was less than $1 million, noting that he had commingled the cryptocurrency with his personal assets, making it difficult to determine the exact amount. Investigators found that Yaroch had moved approximately $1.02 million into a decentralized lending platform and had about $188,570 in a Kraken account.

On July 31, Yaroch consented to investigators seizing funds from his cryptocurrency accounts. The FBI transferred cryptocurrency valued at approximately $925,426 into government-controlled wallets. The investigation began after Yaroch contacted a Justice Department employee on July 28, requesting a private meeting.

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take matters into his own hands