Investigators say someone sent a package on April 1, 2020, attempting to establish "a covert relationship" with a representative from the foreign country. The 42-year-old former lieutenant in the Navy and his wife, 45, sold restricted information "concerning the design of nuclear powered warships" to someone they believed was a representative of an unnamed foreign power, according to federal law enforcement officials.Īccording to a biography provided by military officials, Toebbe had been awarded the Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal before separating from the military on Dec. Toebbe held an active national security clearance through the Department of Defense, giving him access to restricted data, authorities said. The department says Toebbe unwittingly communicated with FBI agents and passed along sensitive military secrets, in a scheme that stretched more than a year. The Department of Justice says Jonathan Toebbe and his wife, Diana Toebbe, were arrested Saturday and charged with violating the Atomic Energy Act. Navy and his wife have been arrested on espionage charges, after allegedly attempting to sell secrets about submarines to a foreign entity, according to court records unsealed Sunday. Stocktrek Images/Getty Images/Stocktrek ImagesĪ former nuclear engineer officer in the U.S. A payment made by the FBI to Toebbe worth about $100,000 has not been located, the agent testified.The Virginia-class attack submarine USS California (SSN 781) underway during sea trials in Atlantic Ocean on June 30, 2011. The memory card contained "militarily sensitive design elements, operating parameters and performance characteristics of Virginia-class submarine reactors," according to the Justice Department.Īn FBI agent testified during a court hearing in October that Toebbe asked for $5 million worth of cryptocurrency in exchange for the secret submarine information. Toebbe, who had a top-secret security clearance, communicated with an undercover FBI agent posing as a foreign official over the course of several months, the Justice Department said.Īt one point, Toebbe hid a digital memory card containing documents about submarine nuclear reactors in half a peanut butter sandwich at a "dead drop" location in West Virginia while his wife acted as lookout, the Justice Department said. Prosecutors alleged in an October indictment that the Toebbes tried to sell government secrets about nuclear submarine propulsion to an unidentified foreign country. The plea deal "indicates that the government likely had a very strong case and saw this conduct as posing a very serious risk to national security," said Brandon Van Grack, a national security lawyer at Morrison & Foerster not involved in the case. Toebbe's plea agreement calls for him to face a likely sentence of between 12 years to 17 years in prison.
Toebbe's 45-year-old wife, Diana, who was charged with helping her husband, is still facing criminal charges. Toebbe, 42, admitted to conspiring with his wife to disclose restricted data, a violation of the Atomic Energy Act that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Justice Department lawyer unveiled the agreement with nuclear engineer Jonathan Toebbe during a court hearing in West Virginia federal court. Navy engineer charged with attempting to sell secrets about nuclear submarines to a foreign power pleaded guilty on Monday as part of a deal with prosecutors.Ī U.S. WASHINGTON, Feb 14 (Reuters) - A former U.S.
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