An American nuclear engineer has been arrested on charges of selling national secrets in exchange for digital currency

A US Navy nuclear engineer and his wife are accused of selling US Navy classified information to a foreign undercover agent in exchange for some money.

to the Report Kevin Desk, according to a complaint filed last Friday with the FBI, Jonathan Toebbe and his wife Diana, both from Maryland, were involved in a conspiracy to try to obtain design information. Sell ​​US nuclear submarines to a foreign country. In the text of the complaint and testimony related to this incident, the name of this foreign country is not mentioned and it is referred to as “COUNTRY1”.

Jonathan Toby is an engineer who was involved in the design program of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion System at the US Department of Defense. Toby had received an “active national security license” and was therefore able to access sensitive information. The couple allegedly violated the US Nuclear Energy Act. This law prohibits the transmission or disclosure of secret nuclear information for the purpose of harming the United States or for the benefit of any other foreign country.

The use of a digital currency in a transaction with national and security implications provided a good excuse for members of Congress and lawmakers to try to curb digital currencies to facilitate illegal activities.

According to the affidavit, Jonathan Toby sent a package to a foreign government on April 1, 2020, containing a sample of confidential information. Toby’s goal was to be able to communicate with this foreign country and sell them other sensitive and secret information. The complaint alleges that Toby wrote to a person he believed represented a foreign government via an encrypted email.

According to the complaint, Toby and his wife tried to sell confidential US Navy information to the foreign country three times between June 8 and October 9.

The couple met with an undercover agent three times in three different locations and were unaware of the location in any of these appointments. During these meetings, they handed over confidential government documents, including data encrypted on SD cards, to a foreign official. The memory cards were hidden in a gum pack and a peanut butter sandwich. Examination of the memory cards revealed that they contained confidential data related to US submarine nuclear reactors.

According to the lawsuit, the couple received $ 100,000 in Monroe digital currency before being arrested by the West Virginia Navy’s Criminal Investigation Service. The couple will appear in federal court in Martinsburg, West Virginia, this Tuesday.