ALBAWABA - Former FBI high-level special agent, Patrick Steven Yaroch, said he became frustrated with the agency’s inaction over the misuse of crypto accounts leading him to take matters into his own hands, according to court records made public on Monday.
Agent Patrick came across the crypto accounts during a high-level surveillance operation targeting an "adversarial nation”; not content with just observing, Special Agent Patrick Yaroch grew “frustrated when he could not do more to disrupt” the misuse of the crypto accounts.
FBI Agent Patrick promptly funneled $900,000 worth of crypto from these ‘malicious’ accounts into his own personal account; upon discovering the plot, the FBI fired Yaroch and arrested him, pressing charges against him related to the interstate transport of stolen goods and the receipt of stolen goods.
Interestingly, according to a court affidavit in the case, a month before the crime Agent Patrick 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?”
To which GPT picked Portugal as the preferred destination, catering to Agent Patrick’s age and lifestyle, it answered:
“At 37, with a young family, a goal of potentially retiring around 40, and a clear interest in eventually building a slower-living vineyard/agricultural lifestyle in places like Cilento or Portugal’s Dão region…” it said according to the affidavit.
The FBI issued a statement regarding the matter:
“As soon as the FBI became aware of these allegations, we immediately took action, began an investigation, and ultimately executed an arrest warrant for this individual last week,
“We hold our employees to the highest ethical standards, and this conduct is not tolerated at the FBI. We are conducting a thorough investigation in the aftermath, and as this is an ongoing matter, we will have no further comment.”
