The events unfolded over several months in 2020 and 2021, according to the Department of Justice. And the spy couple was arrested in October 2021 by FBI agents. And had been closely surveilled by authorities during a year-long sting operation.
Spy case involving nuclear-powered subs
According to court documents, Jonathan Toebbe was a nuclear engineer with top-secret security clearance. Toebbe worked in the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program. And had unrestricted access to sensitive military designs for reactors on nuclear-powered warships.
In April 2020, he sent a package of top-secret Navy documents to an unnamed foreign country. In the package were instructions for how to obtain additional information.
Toebbe allegedly gave additional military secrets to the FBI pretending to be a foreign official in exchange for $100,000 in crypto.
In June 2021, Toebbe left an SD card containing top secret info inside half of a peanut butter sandwich. He received a payment of $20,000 in crypto. Then he sent an email with a decryption key to the undercover FBI agent.
