Ex-US Navy engineer pleads guilty to selling submarine secrets
- Jonathan Toebbe and his wife Diana Toebbe were arrested last October in US espionage case
- Court did not identify the foreign power that was the intended recipient of US submarine secrets
A former US Navy engineer admitted in federal court on Monday that he tried to sell secrets about nuclear submarines to a foreign power, the Justice Department said.
Jonathan Toebbe, 43, pleaded guilty before a federal judge, more than four months after being arrested with his wife Diana Toebbe.
In exchange for his guilty plea, he is expected to be sentenced to between 12.5 to 17.5 years in prison.
His wife, a teacher, has so far maintained her innocence and sought release to care for their two teenage children. But her husband’s plea deal also incriminates her.
“Diana Toebbe knowingly and voluntarily joined the conspiracy to communicate Restricted Data to another person with the intent to secure an advantage to a foreign nation and committed multiple overt acts in furtherance of the conspiracy, including acting as a lookout while Mr Toebbe serviced three dead drops,” the document said.
The court documents did not however say which country the couple tried to sell their information to.