A US Navy engineer admitted in federal court on Monday that he tried to sell secrets about nuclear submarines to a foreign power, the Justice Department said.

Jonathan Toebbe, 43, pleaded guilty before a federal judge, more than four months after being arrested with his wife Diana Toebbe.

In exchange for his guilty plea, he is expected to be sentenced to between 12.5 to 17.5 years in prison.

His wife, a teacher, has so far maintained her innocence and sought release to care for their two teenage children. But her husband's plea deal also incriminates her.

"Diana Toebbe knowingly and voluntarily joined the conspiracy to communicate Restricted Data to another person with the intent to secure an advantage to a foreign nation and committed multiple overt acts in furtherance of the conspiracy, including acting as a lookout while Mr. Toebbe serviced three dead drops," the document said.

The court documents did not however say which country the couple tried to sell their information to.

The documents imply it was a US ally whose principal language is not English.

US nuclear submarines were at the center of a heated diplomatic crisis last September, when Australia canceled a mega-deal with France to announce a strategic partnership with the United States and Britain.

The Justice Department said in its statement that Toebbe had been working since 2012 on the design of the reactors for Virginia-class submarines, the latest generation of attack submersibles in the US fleet.

In April 2020, he had sent a package to a foreign country with an initial set of documents and instructions for establishing contact via a return address in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The package contained "a sample of Restricted Data and instructions for establishing a covert relationship to purchase additional Restricted Data," the Justice Department said.

"Toebbe began corresponding via encrypted email with an individual whom he believed to be a representative of the foreign government. The individual was really an undercover FBI agent," the DoJ said.

Over several months, Toebbe received increasing payments in cryptocurrency for tens of thousands of dollars, and hid SD cards loaded with stolen secrets inside a peanut butter sandwich, in a packet of chewing gum and in a Band-Aid wrapper.

According to court documents, the country that Toebbe believed he was selling the secrets to was cooperating with the FBI, to the point of placing a flag in its Washington embassy to gain Toebbe's confidence.

Related Links
Naval Warfare in the 21st Century

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Israel cabinet green-lights submarine corruption probe
Jerusalem (AFP) Jan 23, 2022
Israel's cabinet Sunday voted to establish a formal inquiry into a 2012 naval procurement deal that has been marred by corruption allegations implicating close associates of former premier Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu has not personally been accused of wrongdoing in the so-called "submarine affair", which concerns a multi-billion shekel deal to acquire naval vessels from the German industrial giant Thyssenkrupp. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who ousted Netanyahu in June, abstained in the v ... read more