Tag:

Espionage

‘Disgraceful Betrayal:’ State Department Worker With Top Secret Clearance Sold Out To China ‘Disgraceful Betrayal:’ State Department Worker With Top Secret Clearance Sold Out To China
‘Disgraceful Betrayal:’ State Department Worker With Top Secret Clearance Sold Out To China A Virginia man who worked for the US Department of State is heading to prison after federal prosecutors say he sold out his country by transmitting classified information to people he knew were Chinese government agents. Michael Charles Schena, 42, of Alexandria, was sentenced to four years in federal prison for conspiring to collect and transmit national defense information, the US Attorney’s Office in Virginia announced. Schena, who held a Top Secret clearance, admitted he passed sensitive government information in exchange for cash.  Prosecutors said he “deliberately undermined US …
Luxury Trips, $1M Homes: NJ, NH Dads Convicted In NY For Russian Spy Smuggling Plot Luxury Trips, $1M Homes: NJ, NH Dads Convicted In NY For Russian Spy Smuggling Plot
Luxury Trips, $1M Homes: NJ, NH Dads Convicted In NY For Russian Spy Smuggling Plot Two suburban husbands — one from New Jersey, the other from New Hampshire — lived comfortable family lives while secretly helping Russia obtain U.S.-made technology and sniper ammunition, federal prosecutors announced on Tuesday, Aug. 19. Vadim Yermolenko, 43, of Upper Saddle River, NJ, a dual U.S. and Russian citizen, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for his role in the illicit network, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. His co-defendant, Alexey Brayman, 38, of Merrimack, NH, an Israeli citizen born in Ukraine, pleaded guilty and is awaiting se…
Anti-Trump Defense Worker Tried Leaking Intel: 'I Don’t Align With This Administration:' DOJ Anti-Trump Defense Worker Tried Leaking Intel: 'I Don’t Align With This Administration:' DOJ
Anti-Trump Defense Worker Tried Leaking Intel: 'I Don’t Align With This Administration:' DOJ A Virginia-based US government employee who said he didn’t support the current administration tried to pass classified military intel to a foreign country — but the FBI was watching from the start, officials said. A Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) IT specialist with "Top Secret" clearance was arrested in northern Virginia after he allegedly tried to leak national defense information to a foreign government — citing his personal opposition to the current administration as his reason, federal officials announced. Today, an IT specialist employed by the Defense Intelligence Agency was arr…
'Sushi John' Seized By ICE Accused Of Espionage Runs Thriving NJ Noodle Shop: Report 'Sushi John' Seized By ICE Accused Of Espionage Runs Thriving NJ Noodle Shop: Report
'Sushi John' Seized By ICE Accused Of Espionage Runs Thriving NJ Noodle Shop: Report A New Jersey restaurant owner known to locals as “Sushi John” has been arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after being convicted of acting as an agent of a foreign government, according to federal officials and NJ Advance Media. ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in Newark took Ming Xi Zhang into custody on March 24, according to a statement from immigration officials put out last month. Zhang remains detained in ICE custody, the agency said in a statement. “Any illegal alien conducting activities related to espionage, sabotage or export control against the United State…
Government Contractor With 'Top Secret' Security Clearance Accused Of Espionage In DC: DOJ Government Contractor With 'Top Secret' Security Clearance Accused Of Espionage In DC: DOJ
Government Contractor With 'Top Secret' Security Clearance Accused Of Espionage In DC: DOJ A government contractor living in Maryland has been accused of espionage by federal officials in Washington, DC, authorities announced. 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 sa…
Virginia FBI Agent Convicted Of Spying For Russia, Robert Hanssen, Found Dead In Fed Pen Virginia FBI Agent Convicted Of Spying For Russia, Robert Hanssen, Found Dead In Fed Pen
Virginia FBI Agent Convicted Of Spying For Russia, Robert Hanssen, Found Dead In Fed Pen Notorious FBI agent-turned-spy, Robert Hanssen, was found dead in his cell at a maximum security prison in Colorado, various news outlets are reporting citing federal officials. The 79-year-old former Vienna, VA resident was apparently found unresponsive just before 7 a.m. on Monday, June 5, the Washington Post reports. Purported attempts to save him were unsuccessful. Hanssen's case is considered among the most egregious espionage cases in US history. In February 2001, federal investigators learned Hanssen was set to make a dead drop at Foxstone Park in Fairfax County, a place where he'd…
13 Chinese Nationals Charged With Multiple Acts Of Espionage By Feds In Washington, NJ, NY 13 Chinese Nationals Charged With Multiple Acts Of Espionage By Feds In Washington, NJ, NY
13 Chinese Nationals Charged With Multiple Acts Of Espionage By Feds In Washington, NJ, NY Thirteen people, including members of China’s security and intelligence services, have been charged with trying to recruit professors and others in the United States to act as agents for their country, federal authorities in New York, New Jersey and Washington, DC announced. Tales of international intrigue include allegations that the defendants plotted to steal documents from a federal prosecutor's office to subvert a criminal investigation into a major Chinese company. Some of them are also charged in a spy-versus-spy encounter involving a $41,000 bribe in Bitcoin paid to an American…
Navy Engineer, Wife Admit Trying To Sell American Submarine Secrets For Cryptocurrency: Feds Navy Engineer, Wife Admit Trying To Sell American Submarine Secrets For Cryptocurrency: Feds
Navy Engineer, Wife Admit Trying To Sell American Submarine Secrets For Cryptocurrency: Feds The wife of a former Navy engineer from Maryland has also admitted in federal court that she helped him try to sell some of America’s best kept submarine secrets to a foreign country in exchange for cryptocurrency. Diana Toebbe, 46, of Annapolis, served as a lookout while her husband, Jonathan Toebbe, 43, serviced three “dead-drops," which were picked up by undercover FBI agents during a year-long sting operation, federal prosecutors said Friday. Diana pleaded guilty to conspiracy to communicate Restricted Data — four days after her husband admitted to the same. The Toebbes were …