WASHINGTON — A former Navy nuclear engineer admitted in federal court on Monday that he tried to sell sensitive secrets about nuclear-powered warships to a foreign country.
Jonathan Toebbe, 43, pleaded guilty in federal court in West Virginia to conspiring to communicate restricted data, admitting to U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Trumble that he had sought to sell U.S. secrets “in exchange for payment with the intent to injure the United States.” Under his deal with federal prosecutors, he faces a sentence of roughly between 12 and 17 years in prison. No sentencing date has been set.
“Among the secrets the U.S. government most zealously protects are those related to the design of its nuclear-powered warships,” Assistant Atty Gen. Matthew G. Olsen said in a statement. “The defendant was entrusted with some of those secrets and instead of guarding them, he betrayed the trust placed in him and conspired to sell them to another country for personal profit.”
