Jareh Sebastian Dalke, Espionage, Colorado 2022

Colorado Springs man Jareh Sebastian Dalke, 30, was arrested on September 28, 2022, in Denver, Colorado, on charges of attempting to transmit classified National Defense Information (NDI) to a representative of a foreign government.

Dalke, a former employee of the National Security Agency (NSA), served as an Information Systems Security Designer from June 6, 2022, to July 1, 2022. However, between August and September 2022, he used an encrypted email account to transmit excerpts of three classified documents he had obtained during his employment to an individual he believed to be working for a foreign government.

According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, Dalke began communicating on or about July 29, 2022, via encrypted email with an individual he believed to be associated with a foreign government. He told that individual that he had taken highly sensitive information relating to foreign targeting of U.S. systems, and information on U.S. cyber operations, among other topics.

Dalke represented to the undercover FBI agent that he was still employed by the U.S. government but said he was on a temporary assignment at a field location. He requested compensation via a specific type of cryptocurrency in exchange for the information he possessed and stated that he was in financial need.

To prove he had access to sensitive information, Dalke transmitted excerpts of three classified documents to the undercover FBI agent. Each excerpt contained classification markings. One excerpt was classified at the Secret level, and two excerpts were classified at the Top Secret level. In return for this information, the FBI undercover agent provided the requested cryptocurrency to an address Dalke provided.

Dalke is charged with three violations of the Espionage Act, which makes it a crime to transmit or attempt to transmit NDI to a representative of a foreign nation with intent or reason to believe that information could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of a foreign nation. The Espionage Act carries a potential sentence of death or any term of years up to life.

Dalke is currently facing serious charges and is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The case is being investigated by the FBI Denver Field Office and the FBI Washington Field Office.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-co/pr/former-nsa-employee-arrested-espionage-related-charges