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In this 2004 file photo, the USS Virginia returns to the Electric Boat Shipyard in Groton, Connecticut, after its first sea trials. A Navy nuclear engineer with access to military secrets has been charged with attempting to convey information about the design of US nuclear submarines to someone he believed to be a representative of a foreign government but who turned out to be an undercover agent of the FBI, Justice Department today . (AP Photo / Jack Sauer, on file)
WASHINGTON (AP) – A Navy nuclear engineer with access to military secrets has been accused of attempting to convey information about the design of US nuclear submarines to someone he believed to be a representative of a foreign government but who turned out to be an undercover FBI agent, the Department of Justice announced today.
In a criminal complaint detailing espionage charges against Jonathan Toebbe, the government said it had sold information for nearly a year to a contact it said represented a foreign power. This country was not named in court documents.
Toebbe, 42, was arrested in West Virginia on Saturday with his wife, 45, Diana, after placing a removable memory card in a pre-arranged location. “dead drop” in Jefferson County, according to the Justice Department.
It was not immediately clear if Toebbe had a lawyer. The Toebbes are from Annapolis, Maryland. The Navy declined to comment today.
The FBI says the program began in April 2020 when Jonathan Toebbe sent a package of Navy documents to a foreign government and said he was interested in selling operations manuals, performance reports and other sensitive information.
Authorities say he also provided instructions on how to conduct the stealth relationship, with a letter that read: “I apologize for this poor translation into your language. Please forward this letter to your military intelligence agency. I believe this information will be of great value to your nation. This is not a hoax. “
The FBI legal office in the foreign country received the package, which had a return address from Pittsburgh, last December. This led to a months-long undercover operation in which an agent posing as a foreign government official offered to pay thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency for the information Toebbe was offering.
In June, according to the FBI, the undercover agent sent Toebbe $ 10,000 in cryptocurrency, describing it as a sign of good faith and trust.
The following week, FBI agents watched the Toebbes arrive at an agreed location in West Virginia for the exchange, with Diana Toebbe appearing to serve as a lookout for her husband during the dead end operation, according to the complaint. the FBI recovered a blue SD card wrapped in plastic and placed between two slices of bread on a peanut butter sandwich, according to the complaint.
The FBI paid Toebbe $ 20,000 for the transaction and provided the contents of the SD card to a Navy subject matter expert, who determined that the records included design elements and performance characteristics of the reactors under – Virginia-class sailors, the Justice Department said. These submarines are sophisticated, nuclear powered “cruise missile rapid attack submarines”, according to the complaint.
The SD card also included a typed message that read, in part: “I hope your experts are very satisfied with the sample provided and I understand the importance of a small exchange to build our confidence.”
The FBI carried out similar dead end exchanges over the next few months, including one in August in Virginia in which Toebbe was paid $ 70,000 and hid an SD card in a packet of gum, according to the complaint.
The complaint alleges violations of the Atomic Energy Act, which restricts the disclosure of information relating to atomic weapons or nuclear materials.
The Toebbes are scheduled to appear in court Tuesday in Martinsburg, West Virginia.
Jonathan Toebbe has worked for the US government since 2012, holding a top-secret security clearance and specializing in naval nuclear propulsion, according to the FBI. He was also assigned to a Pittsburgh-area lab that officials say works on nuclear power for the US Navy.
No one answered at the Toebbe Residence this afternoon in a waterfront community in Annapolis near the South River. An outside light was on above the door of their house and a dog barked inside.
John Cooley, who lives across the street from the Toebbes, said he counted more than 30 FBI agents in his neighborhood on Saturday from about 2:30 p.m. until nightfall. He said the officers entered the house.
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