An FBI agent is accused of stealing approximately $1 million in cryptocurrency and had used ChatGPT to plan the use of the funds and his escape

An FBI agent, Patrick Yaroch, was arrested last Friday for allegedly stealing approximately $1 million in cryptocurrency from "hostile crypto accounts." According to the submitted affidavit, Yaroch is suspected of transferring the relevant assets starting from late 2024 or early 2025. Yaroch told investigators that he discovered some keys that allowed him to transfer funds from the digital wallet to himself. He expressed frustration at being unable to further prevent personnel related to "hostile nations" from using cryptocurrency and made about a dozen transfers.

Department of Justice documents show that Yaroch admitted to a Department of Justice employee that he had "made some very bad decisions" regarding issues related to crypto wallets. In another interview with federal agents, he also acknowledged that he had "screwed up." Yaroch was previously a supervisory special agent in the FBI's Counterintelligence and Espionage Division and had earlier served in the FBI's Boston field office. The FBI terminated him on July 31. The investigation also indicated that Yaroch mixed personal funds with cryptocurrency assets and had used ChatGPT to inquire about how to handle these funds, including how to spend or invest $1 million and whether to leave the United States for a country in Europe.