WASHINGTON — A Department of Defense employee is under arrest for the brazen act of removing and retaining classified documents in her personal backpack, sparking an FBI investigation.
According to court documents unsealed in the Northern District of Alabama, Ewa Maria Ciszak, 64, of Huntsville, Alabama, knowingly removed and retained classified documents and materials from the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) facilities.
Ciszak, who held a security clearance and had access to classified materials related to the national defense of the United States, allegedly removed the documents from MDA facilities without authorization and transported them to her personal residence and vehicle, which were not authorized for classified material storage.
Between February 2025 and June 18, 2025, Ciszak allegedly removed classified documents from MDA facilities and stored them in her personal backpack, which she would transport directly from MDA to her home.
On June 18, 2025, pursuant to a search warrant authorized by the U.S. District Court, federal agents executed a search of Ciszak’s home, person, and vehicle and recovered multiple documents bearing classification markings up to the SECRET level.
The FBI’s Birmingham Field Office and the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations are investigating the case, with valuable assistance from the FBI Atlanta Field Office’s Savannah Resident Agency and the Missile Defense Agency.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Henry Cornelius for the Northern District of Alabama and Trial Attorneys Chantelle Dial and Adam Barry of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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Key Facts
- State: Alabama
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Cybercrime|Public Corruption|White Collar Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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