A former FBI agent who stole $2.47 million in crypto asked ChatGPT what he should do with ‘a bucket of money’ if he wanted to leave the U.S.

Former FBI agent Patrick Steven Yaroch pleaded guilty to stealing about $2.47 million in cryptocurrency from accounts connected to federal investigations, according to the Department of Justice. Investigators said he asked ChatGPT what he should do with “a bucket of money” if he wanted to leave the U.S. He faces up to 20 years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced in March 2027.

Yaroch, 37, of Ashburn, Virginia, used his access to FBI systems to take the cryptocurrency, and some of it belonged to people the FBI was supposed to be helping. He pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering. At least 10 victims of financial crimes had cryptocurrency stolen from accounts linked to FBI investigations, per The Washington Post.

Between December 2024 and July 2026, Yaroch made about 100 fraudulent transfers across 35 FBI investigations, according to prosecutors. Individual transfers ranged from 81 cents to more than $580,000, and prosecutors described the thefts as “indiscriminate.”

He had a whole plan for Portugal

According to a federal search warrant affidavit, Yaroch asked ChatGPT, “If you had a bucket of money (around $1 million) and you wanted to leave the USA and become a resident or citizen of an EU country, what would you do?” One of ChatGPT’s suggestions was Portugal, where he could buy a vineyard. The affidavit was filed in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia.

Yaroch reportedly hired Portuguese attorneys and booked a family trip for September, but he was arrested in July before he could make the move. At the time, a federal complaint said Yaroch had admitted to stealing nearly $1 million in crypto.

Beyond the victims’ accounts, prosecutors said other funds came from accounts tied to foreign adversaries and from a wallet the FBI had created. Yaroch converted the funds into other digital currencies to hide where they came from and used some to pay credit card bills, car payments, and other debts.

Seized cryptocurrency is meant to go back to fraud victims once it is recovered. Earlier this year, the Justice Department said it would return about $470,735 to two victims of a cryptocurrency investment scam after the FBI seized Tether that was traced to their payments.

The case comes about a month after former CIA official David Rush, who also lived in Ashburn, pleaded guilty to wire fraud after stealing nearly $194 million, including more than $40 million in gold bars. Federal investigators said they found more than 300 gold bars during a search of his Ashburn home. Rush could also face up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced.