FILE - In this Friday, July 30, 2004 record photo, the U.S.S. Virginia returns to the Electric Boat Shipyard successful Groton Conn., aft its archetypal oversea trials. A Navy atomic technologist with entree to subject secrets has been charged with trying to walk accusation astir the plan of American nuclear-powered submarines to idiosyncratic helium thought was a typical of a overseas authorities but who turned retired to beryllium an undercover FBI agent, the Justice Department said Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Jack Sauer, File)

FILE - In this Friday, July 30, 2004 record photo, the U.S.S. Virginia returns to the Electric Boat Shipyard successful Groton Conn., aft its archetypal oversea trials. A Navy atomic technologist with entree to subject secrets has been charged with trying to walk accusation astir the plan of American nuclear-powered submarines to idiosyncratic helium thought was a typical of a overseas authorities but who turned retired to beryllium an undercover FBI agent, the Justice Department said Sunday, Oct. 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Jack Sauer, File) (AP2004)

WASHINGTON – A Navy atomic technologist with entree to subject secrets has been charged with trying to walk accusation astir the plan of American nuclear-powered submarines to idiosyncratic helium thought was a typical of a overseas authorities but who turned retired to beryllium an undercover FBI agent, the Justice Department said Sunday.

In a transgression ailment detailing espionage-related charges against Jonathan Toebbe, the authorities said helium sold accusation for astir the past twelvemonth to a interaction helium believed represented a overseas power. That state was not named successful the tribunal documents.

Toebbe, 42, was arrested successful West Virginia connected Saturday on with his 45-year-old wife, Diana, aft helium had placed a removable representation paper astatine a prearranged “dead drop” successful Jefferson County, according to the department.

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It wasn’t instantly wide whether either Toebbe had a lawyer. The Toebbes are from Annapolis, Maryland.

The FBI says the strategy began successful April 2020 erstwhile Jonathan Toebbe — a U.S. authorities worker since 2012 — sent a bundle of Navy documents to a overseas authorities and said helium was funny successful selling operations manuals, show reports and different delicate information.

Authorities accidental helium besides provided instructions for however to proceed to the furtive relationship, with a missive that said: “I apologize for this mediocre translation into your language. Please guardant this missive to your subject quality agency. I judge this accusation volition beryllium of large worth to your nation. This is not a hoax.”

The FBI's ineligible bureau successful the overseas state received the package, which had a instrumentality code of Pittsburgh, past December. That led to a monthslong undercover cognition successful which an cause posing arsenic a typical of the overseas authorities offered to wage thousands of dollars successful cryptocurrency for the accusation Toebbe was offering.

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In June, the FBI says, the undercover cause sent $10,000 successful cryptocurrency to Toebbe, describing it arsenic a “sign of bully religion and trust.”

As portion of the operation, authorities say, the FBI observed the Toebbes get connected aggregate occasions astatine agreed-upon locations for the exchange, concealing an SD paper betwixt 2 slices of breadstuff connected a fractional of a peanut food sandwich successful 1 lawsuit and successful a chewing gum bundle successful another.

The ailment alleges violations of the Atomic Energy Act, which makes it a transgression to disclose accusation astir atomic weapons oregon atomic materials with the intent of harming the United States.

The Toebbes are expected to person their archetypal tribunal appearances Tuesday successful Martinsburg, West Virginia.

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