Attempting to sell secret documents to the Russian foreign service, a former National Security Agency (NSA) employee was detained and prosecuted by the FBI, according to documents made public this week.
Jareh Sebastian Dalke, 30 of Colorado Springs, had been employed by the NSA for less than a month when he contacted someone he thought to be a Russian government representative.
Ex-NSA Worker Tried to Sell US Secrets
A Thursday indictment revealed that the contact was an undercover FBI agent. On July 29, 2022, Dalke started an encrypted email conversation with someone he thought was connected to the Kremlin, but who was an FBI agent.
From June 6 to July 1 of this year, Dalke worked as an information systems security designer for just one month. But in late July, he revealed to the FBI agent that he was still working for the US government. Although he wasn't working for the NSA when he spoke with the undercover FBI agent, he reapplied to the agency in August while aggressively trying to sell US secrets.
He first asked for money in an unidentified cryptocurrency type and amount, and in late August he asked for $85,000 in exchange for more details. According to the discussions, Dalke informed the person that he had taken highly confidential data about US targeting and cyber operations and that he planned to sell it.
He's accused of trying to provide top-secret information to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service. Dalke supplied the undercover agent portions of three top-secret and two secret documents to demonstrate that he had access to sensitive information.
In the communications, he also mentioned having money difficulties. On September 28, Dalke was taken into custody in Denver, Colorado, where he had previously promised to meet the FBI agent to turn over secret material.
Dalke Faces Multiple Charges
The Colorado Rangers are a reserve police unit, and according to the FBI, Dalke volunteered with them. According to CBS, Dalke listed himself as the leader of the Colorado Rangers' digital crimes squad and a lieutenant in his own resume.
Under the Espionage Act, it is illegal to transmit or attempt to disclose National Defense Information to a representative of another nation if there is reason to believe that the information could be used to damage the US. He has been charged with three violations of this law. Dalke could be sentenced to life in jail, any number of years in prison, or even the capital penalty if found guilty, as per Daily Mail.
Dalke allegedly informed the undercover agent that he owed $237,000 in bills. He declared bankruptcy in 2017 as a result of credit card and student loan debt, according to the document. According to the allegations, he told the undercover agent that giving the government access to the sensitive material in exchange for money was a chance to help balances of the world while simultaneously caring for my own demands.
The affidavit claimed that Dalke also expressed his belief that the United States is not as great as many people believe it to be today. A federal employee is being prosecuted in this case for allegedly seeking to give sensitive material to a person they believed to be a representative of a foreign country.
Navy nuclear engineer Jonathan Toebbe and his wife Diana were taken into custody in October 2021 on suspicion of attempting to sell submarine secrets to a foreign country. Both have admitted guilt and are waiting for punishment, Independent reported.
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