Former Twitter Employee Found Guilty of Acting as an Agent of a Foreign Government and Unlawfully Sharing Twitter User Information
Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division said, “Any attempts by foreign governments to hijack free speech – in social media or any form – will not be tolerated here in the United States.” This is great but what about here in America when big tech, media, and more censor the […]
Former U.S. Military Pilot Admits Acting as Paid Agent of China and Lying on National Security Background Forms
(DOJ) A former U.S. Army helicopter pilot-turned-civilian-contractor pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting that he acted as an unregistered agent of China and accepted thousands of dollars from representatives of the Chinese government to provide aviation-related information from his defense-contractor employers. He also pleaded guilty to making related false statements during national security background […]
Chinese National Sentenced for Economic Espionage Conspiracy
(DOJ) A Chinese national formerly residing in Chesterfield, Missouri, was today sentenced to 29 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and a $150,000 fine for conspiring to commit economic espionage. Xiang Haitao, 44, pleaded guilty to the charge in January 2022. According to court documents, Xiang conspired to steal a trade […]
Professor working on U.S. government funded research hides ties to China Government
(DOJ) A former University of Kansas (KU) professor was today convicted by a federal jury on three counts of wire fraud and one count of false statements after he deliberately concealed that he was also employed by a government-affiliated university in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), while working on U.S. government funded research at […]
Former GE Power Engineer Convicted of Conspiracy to Commit Economic Espionage
(DOJ) A federal jury convicted a New York man of conspiracy to commit economic espionage following a four-week jury trial. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Xiaoqing Zheng, 59, of Niskayuna, was employed at GE Power & Water in Schenectady, New York, as an engineer specializing in sealing technology. He worked at GE […]
National Security Agency Employee Indicted for Willful Transmission and Retention of National Defense Information
(DOJ) A Maryland man is charged with willful transmission and retention of National Defense Information (NDI) in an indictment unsealed today in the District of Maryland. According to court documents, as an employee of the National Security Agency (NSA), Mark Robert Unkenholz, 60, of Hanover, held a Top Secret/SCI clearance and had lawful access to […]
Naval Flight Officer Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Lying About Connection With China
(DOJ) A Florida man was sentenced today to four years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for conspiring to violate U.S. firearms laws, making false written statements to federally licensed firearms dealers during the purchase of two firearms, and making false written statements as part of a security clearance background investigation. Fan Yang, […]
Wife of Maryland Nuclear Engineer Pleads Guilty to Espionage-Related Offense
(DOJ) A Maryland woman pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to communicate Restricted Data related to the design of nuclear-powered warships. Her husband pleaded guilty to the same offense on Monday, Feb. 14. Diana Toebbe, 46, of Annapolis, was arrested on Oct. 9, 2021, for knowingly and voluntarily joining a conspiracy with her husband, Jonathan Toebbe, […]
Maryland Nuclear Engineer Pleads Guilty to Espionage-Related Offense
(DOJ) A Maryland man pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to communicate restricted data related to the design of nuclear-powered warships to a person he believed was a representative of a foreign nation. Jonathan Toebbe, 43, of Annapolis, was arrested on Oct. 9, 2021, after he placed an SD card at a pre-arranged “dead drop” at […]
Chinese National Pleads Guilty to Economic Espionage Conspiracy
(DOJ) Xiang Haitao, 44, a Chinese national formerly residing in Chesterfield, Missouri, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit economic espionage. According to court documents, Xiang conspired to steal a trade secret from Monsanto, an international company based in St. Louis, for the purpose of benefitting a foreign government, namely the People’s Republic of China. […]
Former Defense Contractor Arrested for Attempted Espionage
(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 […]
Jury Convicts Chinese Intelligence Officer of Espionage Crimes, Attempting to Steal Trade Secrets
(DOJ) A federal jury today convicted Yanjun Xu, a Chinese national and Deputy Division Director of the Sixth Bureau of the Jiangsu Province Ministry of State Security, of conspiring to and attempting to commit economic espionage and theft of trade secrets. The defendant is the first Chinese intelligence officer to be extradited to the United States […]
Former Air War College Professor Pleads Guilty to Making False Statements About Relationship with Government Official in China
(DOJ) A civilian professor at the Air War College on Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, pleaded guilty to making false statements to a federal agent. According to court documents, Xiaoming Zhang, 69, a naturalized citizen of Chinese descent living in Montgomery, Alabama, began working as an Air War College (AWC) professor in July 2003. […]
Woman Pleads Guilty to Unauthorized Removal and Retention of Classified Material
(DOJ) A Hawaii woman pleaded guilty today to one count of knowingly removing classified information concerning the national defense or foreign relations of the United States and retaining it at an unauthorized location. According to court documents, Asia Janay Lavarello, 31, of Honolulu, admitted to having removed and retained numerous classified documents, writings and notes relating […]
Defense Department Linguist Sentenced to 23 Years in Prison for providing classified information to Hezbollah
(DOJ) Mariam Taha Thompson, 62, formerly of Rochester, Minnesota, was sentenced today to 23 years in prison for delivering classified national defense information to aid a foreign government. As part of her March 26 guilty plea, Thompson admitted that she believed that the classified national defense information that she was passing to a Lebanese national would […]
FBI Employee Indicted for Illegally Removing National Security Documents, Taking Material to Her Home
(DOJ) An employee of the FBI’s Kansas City Division has been indicted by a federal grand jury for illegally removing numerous national security documents that were found in her home. Kendra Kingsbury, 48, of Dodge City, Kansas, was charged in a two-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Missouri, on […]
University Researcher Sentenced to Prison for Lying on Grant Applications to Develop Scientific Expertise for China
(DOJ) An Ohio man and rheumatology professor and researcher with strong ties to China was sentenced to 37 months in prison for making false statements to federal authorities as part of an immunology research fraud scheme. As part of his sentence, Zheng was also ordered to pay more than $3.4 million in restitution to the National […]
Former Army Green Beret Sentenced for Russian Espionage Conspiracy
(DOJ) A Virginia man and former Army Green Beret was sentenced today to 188 months in prison for conspiring with Russian intelligence operatives to provide them with U.S. national defense information. Peter Rafael Dzibinski Debbins, 46, of Gainesville, admitted to conspiring with agents of a Russian intelligence service. According to court documents, from December 1996 to […]
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