Feds charge FBI agent they say stole nearly $1 million in crypto from Russia

WASHINGTON — An FBI supervisor detailed to the U.S. intelligence community faces two federal charges accusing him of transferring nearly $1 million from cryptocurrency accounts tied to an adversarial nation into his personal cryptocurrency wallet. Patrick Yaroch was charged with interstate transportation of stolen goods and receipt of stolen goods after he told a Justice Department employee that he became “frustrated” the FBI “could not or would not act against adversarial cryptocurrency accounts,” according to court documents. Yaroch is reported to have said he was upset he could not do more to disrupt cryptocurrency use by an adversarial nation during an investigation. The adversarial nation was Russia, two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News. A federal public defender representing Yaroch declined to comment. Yaroch said he made some very poor decisions, according to an FBI affidavit: “Yaroch said that he went into FBI systems and found keys needed to transfer money from wallets to himself.” He made up to a dozen transfers, which added up to just under $1 million, the affidavit says. Yaroch confessed because he was ashamed and it was “eating him up inside” and he wanted to get it off his chest, the affidavit says. Yaroch also submitted an online FBI self-report form and voluntarily met with personnel at FBI headquarters to discuss his actions — he told headquarters personnel he wanted to disclose something because he had “screwed up.” The affidavit, however, says Yaroch “never interacted with anyone associated with the adversarial accounts, including foreign entities.” When the FBI searched his home, Yaroch handed over his FBI credentials and details of his cryptocurrency wallets. The total value of all transferred funds was about $925,426.07. U.S. Magistrate Judge Lindsey R. Vaala of the Eastern District of Virginia ordered Yaroch temporarily detained Monday. A hearing is set for Tuesday. The FBI said Monday that it “immediately took action” as soon as it became aware of the allegations. “The individual has since been fired from the Bureau. We hold our employees to the highest ethical standards, and this conduct is not tolerated at the FBI,” a spokesperson said. “We are conducting a thorough investigation in the aftermath, and as this is an ongoing matter, we will have no further comment.”