Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

News

This US Couple Has Been Charged With Selling State Secrets For Cryptocurrency

People will do anything for Bitcoin these days…

NBC News / YouTube

Jonathan Toebbe, a US navy engineer, and his wife, Diana, have been charged with selling state secrets to foreign governments. In particular, Toebbe gave away nuclear submarine secrets. All in return for cryptocurrency.

Jonathon Toebbe has worked for the US government since 2012. Up until his arrest, he held a top security clearance pass, allowing him to access the most top-secret files within his department.

What happened to the Toebbes?

The Toebbes were caught out when they unknowingly made a deal with an undercover FBI agent. The US justice department has brought charges against him for selling information to this contact, who Toebbe believed to be a representative for a foreign power.

The US justice department’s complaint outlines the crimes they believe him to have committed:

‘[Jonathan Toebbe] has passed, and continues to pass, Restricted Data as defined by the Atomic Energy Act . . . to a foreign government . . . with the witting assistance of his spouse.’

How did the FBI find out about the scheme to sell state secrets?

Credit: Pixabay / StockVault

The FBI believes the espionage to have been going on from as far back as April 2020. Back in April of last year, the FBI has evidence to suggest Toebbe sent a collection of Navy-related documents to a foreign government. Along with this package, Toebbe had made clear he was willing to sell operations manuals, performance reports, and other sensitive materials.

The details of the letter have been released to the public. In it, Toebbe writes:

“I apologise for this poor translation into your language. Please forward this letter to your military intelligence agency. I believe this information will be of great value to your nation. This is not a hoax.”

By December 2020, the letter ended up in the hands of the FBI stationed in the foreign country. The letter had a Pittsburgh return address, which helped the FBI to arrange their next move.

From the letter, the FBI sent an agent to pose as an interested party in Toebbe’s information. As proof of their legitimacy, the FBI agent actually sent Toebbe $10,000 in cryptocurrency.

How did the FBI catch the Toebbes?

https://www.instagram.com/p/B1jXFs0g3uS/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

In the end, Toebbe and his wife, Diana, were caught in West Virginia. They had been there to leave a memory card at a designated drop-off point – all, of course, arranged by the FBI.

The memory card was actually stashed inside of a peanut butter sandwich.

The undercover FBI agent had offered even more for this transaction: $20,000 in cryptocurrency.

The memory card contained exactly what the FBI needed to charge the Toebbes. An expert identified the SD card to contain performance characteristics and design elements of Virginia-class submarine reactors.

Much like his first posting, Toebbe included a note. This one read:

“I hope your experts are very happy with the sample provided and I understand the importance of a small exchange to grow our trust.”

What happens next?

Following the charging of Mr. and Mrs. Toebbe, they are set to appear in West Virginia’s federal court. What the outcome will be is yet to be seen.

If you want to hear about more conspiracies, why not read about the recent conspiracy theory that Elvis Presley didn’t die when we thought, but instead has been living as a homeless man in California?

Written By

Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

News

Gen-Z men are more conservative than their female counterparts, but women in their soft girl era secretly desire traditional values.

Science

NASA's James Webb space telescope recently found the necessary chemical ingredients for margaritas near two protostars.

News

The fitness company's stock took a tumble this week after revoking a woman's membership for photographing a 'man in the women's locker room'.

Politics

U.S. government faces backlash for prioritizing TikTok ban over other issues.

Copyright © 2022 Trill! Mag