Jonathan Toebbe, 44, of Annapolis, received 232 months, or 19.3 years, while his wife, Diana Toebbe, 46, was sentenced to 262 months, or 21.8 years. The couple pleaded guilty to the charges in August.
Diana Toebbe received a longer sentenced because the judge said the wife had been in charge of the operation. Court documents found the former teacher had acted as a lookout for her husband when he left information at dead drops, once hiding a data card inside a peanut butter sandwich.
Prosecutors had originally sought sentences of up to 17.5 years for Toebbe and three years for his wife after their earlier guilty pleas. But this summer, U.S. District Judge Gina Groh said she considered the sentences insufficient.
Team Effort
“It was most probably Mrs. Toebbe that was driving the bus,” the judge said. “She was part of the plan.”
“The harm to this nation is grave, and these are scary times we live in,” the judge said at the sentencing hearing in Martinsburg.
Judge Groh also expressed exasperation at the behavior of the wife, who was caught passing a letter to her husband while they were both incarcerated urging him to follow their plan and absolve her of wrongdoing.
“She wanted [her husband] to lie,” the judge said.
Jonathan and Diana Toebbe of Annapolis, Maryland, originally pleaded guilty in federal court in Martinsburg, West Virginia, to one felony count each of conspiracy to communicate restricted data.
However, in August Groh rejected the couple’s initial pleas to the same charges, saying the sentencing options were “strikingly deficient” considering the seriousness of the case. The couple then immediately withdrew their initial guilty pleas and Groh set trial for January.
Sell Restricted Info
“The Toebbes conspired to sell restricted defense information that would place the lives of our men and women in uniform and the security of the United States at risk,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Department of Justice remains committed to protecting U.S. defense technology.”
“These actions are a betrayal of trust, not only to the U.S. Government, but also to the American people,” said Assistant Director Alan E. Kohler Jr. of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “All U.S. Government employees swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, and with that oath comes the obligation to protect sensitive information. Those entrusted with such grave responsibility must be held accountable if they violate their oath and betray their country.”
“The Toebbes were willing to compromise the security of the nation by selling information related to naval nuclear propulsion systems, they are now being held accountable for their actions,” said Special Agent in Charge Mike Nordwall of the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office.
“Naval nuclear engineer Jonathan Toebbe was entrusted with our nation’s critical secrets and, along with his wife Diana Toebbe, put the security of our country at risk for financial gain,” said U.S. Attorney Cindy Chung for the Western District of Pennsylvania. “Their serious criminal conduct betrayed and endangered the Department of the Navy’s loyal and selfless service members. The seriousness of the offense in this case cannot be overstated.”
Jonathan Toebbe was an employee of the Department of the Navy who served as a nuclear engineer and was assigned to the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, also known as Naval Reactors, according to court documents. He held an active national security clearance through the Department of Defense, giving him access to “Restricted Data” within the meaning of the Atomic Energy Act. Restricted data concerns design, manufacture or utilization of atomic weapons, or production of Special Nuclear Material (SNM), or use of SNM in the production of energy – such as naval reactors. Jonathan Toebbe worked with and had access to information concerning naval nuclear propulsion including information related to military sensitive design elements, operating parameters and performance characteristics of the reactors for nuclear powered warships.
Sent a Package
Jonathan Toebbe sent a package to a foreign government, listing a return address in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, containing a sample of restricted data and instructions for establishing a covert relationship to purchase additional restricted data, according to court records. Jonathan Toebbe began corresponding via encrypted email with an individual whom he believed to be a representative of the foreign government. The individual was really an undercover FBI agent. Jonathan Toebbe continued this correspondence for several months, which led to an agreement to sell restricted data in exchange for thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency.
On June 8, 2021, the undercover agent sent $10,000 in cryptocurrency to Jonathan Toebbe as “good faith” payment, according to court records. Shortly afterwards, on June 26, Jonathan Toebbe serviced a dead drop by placing an SD card, which was concealed within half a peanut butter sandwich and contained military sensitive design elements relating to submarine nuclear reactors, at a pre-arranged location. After retrieving the SD card, the undercover agent sent Jonathan Toebbe a $20,000 cryptocurrency payment. In return, Jonathan Toebbe emailed the undercover agent a decryption key for the SD Card.
A review of the SD card revealed it contained restricted data related to submarine nuclear reactors. On Aug. 28, 2021, Jonathan Toebbe made another “dead drop” of an SD card in eastern Virginia, this time concealing the card in a chewing gum package. After making a payment to Jonathan Toebbe of $70,000 in cryptocurrency, the FBI received a decryption key for the card. It, too, contained restricted data related to submarine nuclear reactors. The FBI arrested Jonathan Toebbe and his wife on Oct. 9, 2021 after he placed yet another SD card at a pre-arranged “dead drop” at a second location in West Virginia.