Toebbe had listed a return address in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, containing a sample of restricted data and instructions for establishing a covert relationship to obtain additional information. In December 2020, an FBI official received a package from someone attempting to establish “a covert relationship” with a representative from a foreign country, identified only as “COUNTRY1” in court documents. The department said Toebbe, who held a security clearance, unwittingly communicated with FBI agents and passed along sensitive military secrets, in a scheme that stretched nearly a year. “One day, when it is safe, perhaps two old friends will have a chance to stumble into each other at a cafe, share a bottle of wine and laugh over stories of their shared exploits.A United States Navy nuclear engineer and his spouse have been arrested on espionage charges after allegedly attempting to sell confidential information, the US Department of Justice said.Īccording to court records unsealed on Sunday, Jonathan Toebbe and his wife, Diana Toebbe, were arrested and charged with violating the Atomic Energy Act after attempting to sell the design of nuclear-powered warships to a person they believed was a representative of a foreign power. “Thank you for your partnership as well, my friend,” Jonathan Toebbe wrote in an encrypted email to a federal agent. Toebbe signed every encrypted email as “Alice,” describing the format of the information he provided and often expressing concerns about the possibility that he may be communicating with law enforcement, which he regularly referred to as “adversaries.” It’s unclear what, if any, implications Jonathan Toebbe’s plea has on his wife’s case.Īccording to court records, Jonathan Toebbe provided thousands of pages of documents with schematic designs, operating parameters and performance characteristics about “nuclear-powered cruise missile fast-attack submarines,” known in the military as “Virginia-class submarines.” A magistrate judge denied that request and she appealed. Her attorneys pushed for her release pending trial, arguing she wasn’t privy to her husband’s scheme to divulge classified information. The husband and wife have insisted Diana Toebbe is innocent. Jonathan Toebbe wrote in an encrypted email “only one other person I know is aware of our special relationship” and federal agents wrote in their original complaint they believe that person was his wife.Ī federal grand jury indicted the couple Oct.
The FBI followed the couple to the drop sites and watched them deposit the information, accusing Diana Toebbe of acting as a lookout. Toebbe’s letter was shared with an FBI attaché, prompting federal agents to launch an undercover operation. In April 2020, Toebbe sent a sample of restricted data to a country not identified in court records, asking the recipient to share it with their country’s military intelligence agency and promising his information would “be of great value to your nation,” according to court records. They said it’s possible he’d been collecting information related to the Navy’s nuclear endeavors throughout his tenure and, at some point in 2020, sought out a foreign country to share it with. Having worked since 2012 on projects related to naval nuclear propulsion, Toebbe held a top-secret security clearance, according to federal investigators.
Craig Broadwater Federal Building and United States Courthouse in Martinsburg, West Virginia, which is not far from where he and his wife, Diana, were arrested in October. Jonathan Toebbe entered the guilty plea in the W. BALTIMORE - A former Navy nuclear engineer from Annapolis pleaded guilty to espionage Monday, admitting in federal court that he tried to sell classified military information to a foreign government.
0 kommentar(er)
