Feds Charge FBI Agent With Stealing Nearly $1 Million in Crypto Linked to Russia WASHINGTON — An FBI supervisor assigned to U.S. intelligence operations faces two federal charges for allegedly transferring nearly $1 million in cryptocurrency from accounts tied to Russia into his personal wallet. Patrick Yaroch, the accused agent, is charged with interstate transportation of stolen goods and receipt of stolen goods. The charges stem from his alleged actions during an investigation into adversarial cryptocurrency accounts, according to court documents. Yaroch told a Justice Department employee he became “frustrated” the FBI could not or would not act against adversarial cryptocurrency accounts, the court documents state. The adversarial nation was identified as Russia by two sources familiar with the case. Yaroch admitted to accessing FBI systems to retrieve cryptographic keys needed to move funds from wallets associated with adversarial nations, according to an FBI affidavit. He reportedly made up to a dozen transfers, totaling approximately $925,426.07. Yaroch confessed to the actions because he felt ashamed and described the behavior as “eating him up inside,” the affidavit says. He submitted an FBI self-report form and voluntarily met with headquarters personnel to discuss his conduct, admitting he had “screwed up.” Despite his cooperation, a federal magistrate judge ordered Yaroch temporarily detained Monday, with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday. The FBI confirmed it “immediately took action” upon learning of the allegations, stating the agent had been fired from the bureau. A spokesperson emphasized the agency’s commitment to ethical standards, calling the conduct “not tolerated at the FBI” and noting an ongoing investigation.#cryptocurrency #russia #fbi #patrick_yaroch #federal_magistrate_judge
