Patrick Steven Yaroch — FBI Agent Crypto Theft

2017-01-01

Patrick Steven Yaroch joins FBI Boston Field Office and is assigned to a national security squad investigating cryptocurrency accounts linked to an adversarial foreign nation, later identified as Russia.

2024-11-01

Yaroch is exposed to adversarial cryptocurrency wallet credentials in the course of his FBI duties at the Boston field office. He later alleges this is the point at which he became 'frustrated' the FBI would not act against the accounts.

2024-12-01

Alleged unauthorized transfers begin. Yaroch allegedly accesses FBI systems to extract seed phrases and private keys for cryptocurrency wallets tied to the active investigation, memorizes the credentials, and begins transferring funds to personal wallets. Approximately 10 to 12 transfers are alleged to have been made.

2025-02-01

Yaroch transfers from the FBI Boston Field Office to the Counterintelligence and Espionage Division at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., while allegedly continuing to hold and manage the stolen cryptocurrency.

2026-05-28

Yaroch queries ChatGPT about how to invest approximately $1 million for maximum profit, per forensic analysis of his iPhone subsequently recovered by investigators.

2026-06-04

Yaroch queries ChatGPT about how someone with approximately $1 million could leave the United States and obtain residency or citizenship in an EU country. Follow-on queries include Turkish transit visa requirements and employment prospects in Greece.

2026-07-23

Yaroch moves approximately $1.02 million in cryptocurrency to Suilend, a decentralized lending protocol on the Sui blockchain, accessed via the Slush wallet application. He allegedly selects Suilend partly because he likes its water-droplet logo and intends to generate yield on idle assets.

2026-07-28

Yaroch contacts a DOJ employee via Signal and requests a meeting at FBI headquarters. He discloses the alleged theft, states the conduct was 'eating him up inside,' and submits an FBI self-report form.

2026-07-28

FBI interviews Yaroch at headquarters. His personal cryptocurrency wallet valued at approximately $1 million is identified. FBI agents collect property from his Ashburn, Virginia, residence. Yaroch subsequently withdraws his consent to a search of his cryptocurrency wallets.

2026-07-31

Yaroch is arrested following execution of a search warrant. Investigators recover a Trezor hardware wallet, handwritten seed phrases, three passports, and an iPhone containing ChatGPT conversation logs and travel documents including a Portuguese power-of-attorney. A Kraken exchange account containing approximately $188,570 is identified.

2026-08-01

Criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (Case No. 602203), charging Yaroch with interstate transportation of stolen goods (18 U.S.C. § 2314) and receipt of stolen goods (18 U.S.C. § 2315).

2026-08-03

Yaroch makes his first court appearance. U.S. Magistrate Judge Lindsey R. Vaala orders temporary detention. The FBI publicly confirms his termination. The case is widely reported across major news outlets including NBC News, CNN, Bloomberg, and CoinDesk.

2026-08-04

Bloomberg reports Yaroch turned himself in. Additional reporting confirms approximately $925,426 in total assets recovered. The adversarial nation is identified as Russia by NBC News sources. Yaroch is held in custody in Alexandria, Virginia.