(DOJ) A South Dakota man was arrested last night in Lead, South Dakota, on criminal charges related to his alleged espionage attempts.
According to court documents, John Murray Rowe Jr., 63, of Lead, attempted to provide classified national defense information to the Russian government.
According to the complaint, Rowe, who is originally from Massachusetts, was employed for nearly 40 years as a test engineer for multiple cleared defense contractors.
In connection with his employment, Rowe held various national security clearances from SECRET to TOP SECRET//SCI (Sensitive Compartmented Information) and worked on matters relating to the U.S. Air Force’s aerospace technology, among other things.
After committing a number of security violations and revealing a fervent interest in Russian affairs, including whether he could obtain a security clearance from the Russian government, Rowe was identified as a potential insider threat and terminated from employment.
Based on his conduct, FBI began an undercover operation to determine Rowe’s willingness to communicate classified information to a foreign government.
In March 2020, Rowe met with an undercover FBI employee who posed as an agent of the Russian government.
Over the course of the next eight months, Rowe exchanged over 300 emails with the purported Russian agent, confirming his willingness to work for the Russian government and discussing his knowledge of classified information relating to U.S. national security and military interests.
In one email, Rowe explained, “If I can’t get a job here then I’ll go work for the other team.”
In another email, Rowe disclosed national defense information classified as SECRET that concerned specific operating details of the electronic countermeasure systems used by U.S. military fighter jets.
Rowe is charged with attempting to communicate national defense information to aid a foreign government and will make his initial court appearance in the District of South Dakota on Friday.
If convicted, he faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division; U.S. Attorney Jennifer A. Williams for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division and Special Agent in Charge Jacqueline Maguire of the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office is investigating the case with valuable assistance provided by the Lead Police Department in South Dakota.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Wolfe for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Trial Attorney Scott Claffee of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.
Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Dakota, the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and the FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office and Rapid City Resident Agency.
A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
