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U.S. FBI intelligence agent arrested in connection with theft of $1 million in crypto
Patrick Steven Yarmoch, a supervising FBI counterintelligence agent with top secret clearance, was arrested on July 31 and accused of stealing over $1 million in cryptocurrency from wallets of foreign individuals under FBI investigation. Yarmoch allegedly accessed crypto keys from FBI systems, made a dozen transfers to himself, and was planning to flee to Portugal.
Patrick Steven Yarmoch, a supervising special agent in the FBI's counterintelligence and espionage division at headquarters in Washington, was arrested on July 31 and accused of stealing more than $1 million in cryptocurrency from accounts tied to foreign individuals under FBI investigation, according to CoinDesk's reporting of a court filing dated August 1 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Yarmoch held a top secret security clearance and had worked for years out of Boston in a national-security unit before his posting to headquarters. According to CoinDesk, Yarmoch allegedly accessed cryptocurrency keys from FBI systems and made as many as a dozen transfers to himself using accounts with Kraken and Suilend, a decentralized finance platform on the Sui blockchain, via a Slush wallet. Yarmoch reportedly turned himself in to agency colleagues, disclosing the theft before external investigation.
Yarmoch was suspended for two days before being fired and arrested, per CoinDesk. He is a resident of Ashburn, Virginia, and was placed in detention in Alexandria, Virginia, according to the same reporting. FBI searches of his computer and phone records revealed recent AI queries, including one asking how to leave the United States with $1 million and become a resident or citizen of an EU country. An AI app recommended Portugal. Investigators located travel plans for Yarmoch and his family to go to Portugal the following month. CoinDesk reports that Yarmoch had also taken unreported trips to Germany, Portugal, and Grenada, in violation of FBI rules.
The sources do not specify the formal charges filed against Yarmoch or provide the exact number of transfer transactions. The reporting is unconfirmed on the precise total value of crypto involved, whether it is definitively over $1 million or approximately that figure. Status of asset recovery efforts is not disclosed.
FBI counterintelligence supervisor arrested for stealing $1M+ in crypto from seized assets; used Kraken and DeFi platforms to move funds.
Watch for formal indictment details and any accounting of how much of the $1 million has been recovered. Yarmoch's self-disclosure may complicate the narrative of law enforcement failure, but questions remain about how a top secret clearance holder accessed crypto keys and why suspicious transfers were not caught by internal controls until confession. The scope of the security breach inside FBI headquarters asset management is unresolved.
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