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Abraham Teklu Lemma, 50, a naturalized US citizen from Ethiopia who lives in Silver Spring is facing series charges for allegedly conspiring with a foreign government, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Thursday.
Lemma worked as an IT administrator for the Department of State and as a Management Analyst for the Department of Justice, which led to him being granted a "TOP SECRET" security clearance and access to classified systems.
Prosecutors say that between Dec. 19, 2022, and Monday, August 7, Lemma copied classified information from Intelligence Reports and deleted the classification markings from them.
Lemma then allegedly removed the information, which was classified as "SECRET" and "TOP SECRET," from secure facilities at the Department of State against protocol.
He did all of this without authorization of any kind, and the materials all related to a specific country and region, officials noted.
It is further alleged that Lemma used an encrypted app to transmit classified national defense information to a foreign official associated with that specific country’s intelligence service.
According to the complaint, in those communications, Lemma expressed an interest and willingness to assist the foreign official in providing information.
Prosecutors did not specify the country in question that Lemma was allegedly aiding.
Lemma was charged with:
- Gathering or delivering national defense information to aid a foreign government;
- Conspiracy to gather or deliver national defense information to aid a foreign government;
- Having unauthorized possession of national defense information and willfully retaining it.
The two espionage charges carry a potential sentence of death or life in prison, and the retention charge carries a maximum sentence of ten years.
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