![]() The half sandwich was housed inside of a plastic bag." Authorities said they found a 16-gigabyte data card "wrapped in plastic and placed between two slices of bread on a half of a peanut butter sandwich. The FBI later recovered the package Toebbe had left behind. Toebbe's wife appeared to be "acting as a lookout" when he dropped off the material, according to the Justice Department.Īuthorities said military secrets were hidden in a peanut butter sandwich The DOJ says that in March 2021, Toebbe wrote that a cryptocurrency payment equivalent to $100,000 "should be enough to prove to me that you are not an unwelcome third party looking to make trouble for me," according to court documents.Īfter some coaxing - including a "good faith" cryptocurrency payment equal to $10,000 on June 8 - the undercover FBI agent convinced Toebbe to conduct a "dead drop" of information on June 28 in Jefferson County, W.Va., along the borders of Maryland and Virginia, according to charging documents. The FBI agents suggested a meeting, but the person said the situation was risky, noting that they were risking their life in offering the information to the supposed foreign agent. Over the course of several months, the FBI, posing as agents of the foreign country, communicated with the person via encrypted email. The FBI posed as agents of another nation "I believe this information will be of great value to your nation. Please forward this letter to your military intelligence agency," the letter, handed over to the FBI, stated. "I apologize for this poor translation into your language. ![]() Navy documents, a letter containing instructions, and an SD card containing specific instructions on how COUNTRY1 should respond using an encrypted communication platform, and additional documents," investigators said in a court filing. The country was identified only as "COUNTRY1" in court documents. Investigators say an FBI official received the package intended for a foreign entity on or about Dec. The FBI later picked up on Toebbe's attempts to reach a foreign agent just after he had left the Navy, according to court records. The package listed a return address in Pittsburgh, Penn.Īuthorities say that package contained a sample of restricted data and instructions for purchasing additional information. Investigators say someone sent a package on April 1, 2020, attempting to establish "a covert relationship" with a representative from the foreign country. They were charged with conspiracy and “communication of restricted data,” according to a criminal complaint.According to a biography provided by military officials, Toebbe had been awarded the Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the National Defense Service Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal before separating from the military on Dec. Officials said Toebbe and his wife, who are from Annapolis, Maryland, were arrested after placing another memory card at a drop site in West Virginia. Toebbe received separate cryptocurrency payments totalling $100,000, according to the Justice Department. ![]() The memory card contained “militarily sensitive design elements, operating parameters and performance characteristics of Virginia-class submarine reactors,” according to a federal court affidavit.Īnother memory card was concealed in a chewing gum package, the Justice Department said. Toebbe, with the aid of his 45-year-old wife, allegedly sold secrets to an undercover FBI agent posing as a foreign official over the course of several months, the Justice Department said.Īt one point, Toebbe hid a digital memory card containing documents about submarine nuclear reactors in half a peanut butter sandwich at a “dead drop” location in West Virginia while his wife acted as lookout, the Justice Department said.
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