Jonathan Toebbe, a Navy nuclear engineer, pleaded guilty to trying to pass information about American nuclear-powered warships to a foreign country.
Jonathan Toebbe, 43, pleaded guilty in federal court in Martinsburg, West Virginia, to a single count of conspiracy to communicate restricted data. The sentencing range agreed to by lawyers calls for a potential punishment between roughly 12 years and 17 years in prison.
Toebbe acknowledged during the plea hearing that he conspired with his wife to pass classified information to a foreign government in exchange for money with the intent to"injure the United States."Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen, the Justice Department's top national security official, said information about nuclear-powered submarines is among the U.S. government's most closely held secrets.
The FBI has said the scheme began in April 2020, when Jonathan Toebbe sent a package of Navy documents to a foreign government and wrote that he was interested in selling to that country operations manuals, performance reports and other sensitive information. He included in the package, which had a Pittsburgh return address, instructions to his supposed contact for how to establish a covert relationship with him, prosecutors said.
Diana Toebbe is accused of serving as a lookout at several prearranged"dead-drop" locations at which her husband left behind memory cards containing government secrets - devices concealed in objects such as a chewing gum wrapper and a peanut butter sandwich. She has pleaded not guilty and the case against her remains pending. The couple was arrested in West Virginia on Oct. 9 after he placed a memory card at a dead-drop location.
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