FBI Supervisory Agent Arrested on Suspicion of Stealing Nearly $1 Million in U.S. Dollars

Illustration of the FBI. (Wikimedia Commons/FBI)

JAKARTA - An FBI Supervisory Special Agent has been arrested for allegedly misappropriating about $1 million (Rp18,039,000,000) in digital assets from the accounts of foreign parties who were opponents, according to court records opened on Monday.

Patrick Steven Yaroch, who has a Top Secret security clearance and works in counterintelligence, admitted to investigators he accessed the FBI system to retrieve the key and transfer funds to his personal wallet.

"I took action myself," Yaroch said, citing frustration over the Bureau's inability to disrupt enemy assets.

The agent made this transfer without permission about 10 to 12 times, mixing stolen cryptocurrencies with his personal assets.

Meanwhile, the results of the investigation revealed that Yaroch's agents were actively preparing to flee the Uncle Sam's country.

Court documents show he used an artificial intelligence platform to research the transfer of "a sum of money" worth 1 million US dollars to the European Union, which eventually targeted Portugal.

Investigators found Yaroch had obtained a power of attorney in Lisbon to secure a tax identification number and had booked a family trip in September.

Yaroch also violated several security protocols by traveling abroad without reporting to Germany and Grenada earlier this year.

The scheme began to unravel on July 29, when the agent met with a Justice Department employee and confessed to his actions, saying the shame was "eating him from the inside."

After a search of his residence in Ashburn, Virginia, Yaroch voluntarily returned $925,426.07 to a government-controlled account.

He is currently facing federal charges for interstate transportation and receipt of stolen property.

Yaroch was placed on administrative leave on July 29, and his employment was terminated by the FBI on July 31.