[Tymesup]

If the feds were helping Crooks, why would Crooks be casing the setup and perhaps attracting attention?

[Kudsman]

Maybe because he was a rookie and he didn’t realize he was expendable to the deep state.

[Sirius Lee]

If the feds were helping Crooks, why would Crooks be casing the setup and perhaps attracting attention?

The word you're looking for is "patsy".

patsy /păt′sē/
noun
A person easily taken advantage of, cheated, blamed, or ridiculed.
A person who is taken advantage of, especially by being cheated or blamed for something.

[mac_truck]

If the feds were helping Crooks, why would Crooks be casing the setup and perhaps attracting attention?

Their involvement would be less direct than that.

My guess is Crooks had a foreign handler via some online gaming platform and that handler worked for a foreign intelligence agency which was in communication with someone in the US government.

I doubt they're gonna find a direct link from Crooks to a US government agency or person.