The arrest was made by FBI agents after a year-long undercover operation as the investigative agency found that the couple tried to sell the sensitive operation to a rival country.
In an investigation that lasted for more than one year, FBI agents have finally nailed a couple who is accused of selling sensitive information related to the US Nuclear Arsenal to a rival country. FBI agents arrested a couple from Maryland in the alleged attempts of selling the information in exchange for the reward that is promised to them in cryptocurrency.
Jonathan Toebbe, a nuclear Engineer at US Navy along with his wife Diana were accused of selling the information and arrested in West Virginia. The arrest was jointly made by the NavalCriminal Investigation Service and FBI after they have found that the couple sold the information related to the nuclear-powered warship design of the US to an individual whom they believe belong to the foreign power but the person was actually an undercover FBI agent.
Toebbe access to all the sensitive information related to the design and nuclear-propulsion capabilities of warships. According to the revelation of the FBI, Toebbe communicated with the foreign government in April 2020 with an offer to sell all the nucleus secrets to them and then several months later, the FBI agent responded to him via some encrypted email communication. The undercover FBI agent then worked assiduously to gain the trust of the Toebbe before he finally agreed to sell the sensitive information to the agent.
Revealing further details in this regard, the FBI said that it conducted this entire operation in the area of Washington DC and placed a signal to gain access to the ALICE, the anonymous name used by the Toebbe while communicating with what he thought was the agent of a foreign government. On Saturday, the FBI finally made the arrest when Toebbe placed another SD card with all the classified information in West Virginia. It is not clear that whether the legal counsel is yet accessed by the couple or not.
