Patrick Yaroch, an FBI supervisory agent, admitted to taking about $1 million in cryptocurrency from digital accounts of foreign suspects, and asked ChatGPT how to invest the money and flee the US.
A supervisory agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Patrick Steven Yaroch, has been charged with stealing nearly $1 million in cryptocurrency from accounts of foreign suspects he was investigating. According to court documents, Yaroch admitted to transferring the digital assets to his own wallets, and his chat history with ChatGPT reveals that he used artificial intelligence to plan how to invest the stolen money and escape to the European Union.
Yaroch, who worked in Washington as part of the FBI's counterintelligence division, confessed to a Department of Justice employee late last week. He said it was "eating him up inside" and that he wanted to "get it off his chest," according to documents from the criminal proceedings against him.
In a statement given in court, the agent informed his colleagues that he began taking money during 2024 or 2025, and that he made between 10 and 12 transfers using access codes for suspects' accounts that the FBI had obtained during its investigation. Yaroch said his life had "spiraled out of control" and hinted that he took the money because he was frustrated that the FBI "could not or would not act against hostile cryptocurrency accounts," as reported by the Wall Street Journal. The court documents do not specify which hostile state was involved.
A search of Yaroch's chat history with ChatGPT revealed troubling queries. In May 2026, he asked: "If I had a million dollars, how would you recommend I invest or spend it to achieve the highest profit and return?"
A few days later, in June, he asked the AI chatbot: "If you had a pile of money, about a million dollars, and you wanted to leave the US and become a resident or citizen of a European Union country, what would you do?" These queries clearly indicate planning for further steps with the stolen funds.
Yaroch told investigators he did not know exactly how much money he had taken because he had mixed it with his personal assets, but he estimated it was less than $1 million. However, investigators stated that the crypto wallet to which Yaroch transferred the funds contained approximately $1 million. According to Anadolu English, he has been charged with stealing nearly $1 million.
Yaroch has not been charged with the theft of the cryptocurrency itself, but with the interstate transfer of stolen property. Authorities searched his home and quickly arrested him over the weekend, although he had planned to continue cooperating. When he learned that the FBI was conducting a criminal investigation against him, Yaroch ceased communication with investigators and stated he wanted to consult his attorney.
The FBI office stated: "As soon as the FBI learned of these allegations, we took immediate action," adding that Yaroch has since been terminated. Court records currently do not indicate that he has an attorney.
