A couple have been arrested in the United States on charges of attempting to sell classified information on a nuclear submarine. However, the buyer turned out not to be a representative of a foreign government, but an undercover FBI agent.
Jonathan Toebbe, 42, who has worked as an engineer for the US government since 2012, was arrested in West Virginia on Saturday with his wife Diana, 45, after months of undercover operations.
The FBI became alarmed after Toebbe reportedly contacted a foreign government official by mail in April 2020, whose name was withheld. He wrote that he wanted to sell manuals, performance reports, and other sensitive information.
For example, he wrote: “My apologies for this poor translation into your language. Please forward this letter to your military intelligence agency. I think this information will be of great value to your country. This is not a hoax. Court documents do not reveal how the FBI intercepted the letter.
In exchange for crypto coins
An FBI agent then posed as the country’s representative and agreed to pay thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency for the information provided by Toebbe. He allegedly provided information on several occasions.
For example, the FBI found a blue memory card wrapped in plastic and placed between two slices of bread on a half peanut butter sandwich. Another time, the information was hidden in a piece of chewing gum. His wife would have always been on the lookout. The couple were arrested during the third information exchange.
Watch our most popular news videos below.
Free and unlimited access to Showbytes? That can!
Log in or create an account and don’t miss a thing of the stars.
“Devoted bacon guru. Award-winning explorer. Internet junkie. Web lover.”