(Washington Insider Magazine) -A West Virginia couple, Jonathan and Diana Toebbe, were recently arrested after trying to sell nuclear secrets to a foreign government on Oct. 9.
The couple were arrested for espionage-related charges after trying to sell information to someone they thought was a foreign representative that had the design of nuclear-powered warships, according to a statement by the Department of Justice. However, the statement read it was an undercover FBI agent.
The couple were arrested and charged for violating the Atomic Energy Act, which promotes the “utilization of atomic energy for peaceful purposes to the maximum extent consistent with the common defense and security and with the health and safety of the public.”
Toebbe, who was an employee of the Department of the Navy and served as a nuclear engineer, was assigned to the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. The assignment gave him access to the nuclear secrets that he planned to sell.
In June 2020, the Department of Justice said Toebbe sent a package containing a sample of those secrets to the supposed representative of the foreign government, and exchanged emails with them for several months asking for money in return. A year later, the FBI agent paid him $10,000 in cryptocurrency.
After relocating to West Virginia with his wife, Toebbe made several arrangements with the undercover agent at different locations where Toebbe dropped off an SD card containing more and more information on the nuclear secrets. The agent ended up paying Toebbe $70,000 in cryptocurrency between June and October 2021 before arresting him on Oct. 9.
The couple made their appearance in court on Oct. 12. It is still unclear why Toebbe wanted to sell these secrets.
“The work of the FBI, Department of Justice prosecutors, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and the Department of Energy was critical in thwarting the plot charged in the complaint, and taking this first step in bringing the perpetrators to justice,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.
