The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday sentenced a former National Security Agency (NSA) employee to nearly 22 years in prison for attempting to sell classified information, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in a press release.
Jare Sebastian Dalke, 32, was sentenced to 262 months in prison for attempting to sell classified information. In October 2023, Dalke pleaded guilty to six counts of attempting to transmit sensitive national defense information (NDI) to a foreign agent, according to court documents, the Department of Justice said. said. During his tenure at the NSA as an information systems security architect from June 6 to July 1, 2022, Dalke used an encrypted email account to communicate with Russian operatives from August to September. Sent excerpts of three classified documents to suspected individuals. 2022.
However, the person he did business with turned out to be an online undercover employee of the FBI, according to the Department of Justice. These documents are designated as Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) and were obtained by Mr. Dalke during his time at the NSA. In August 2022, Dalke demanded $85,000 for the information he had hidden, claiming its importance to Russia.He swore to an undercover FBI agent that he was ready to make further disclosures when he returned to Washington, D.C.
Former NSA employee sentenced to nearly 22 years for selling secrets to undercover FBI agent https://t.co/rCN6kfja78
— Associated Press (@AP) April 30, 2024
Mr. Dalke then arranged a meeting at Union Station in downtown Denver to hand over additional classified material to the alleged Russian contacts. He used a laptop and his FBI agent’s guidance to transfer his five files, four of which were labeled Top Secret NDI. One of the letters included a letter in Russian addressed to “My friend!” in which Dalke expressed his intention to cooperate further. He was arrested on September 28, 2023 after submitting the file. (Related: ‘At least 40’ undercover informants were conducting surveillance on January 6, defense attorney says)
“This defendant, who swore an oath to protect our country, believed he was selling classified national security information to Russian operatives, when in fact he turned himself in to the FBI,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. the Department of Justice said. . “This verdict shows that those who seek to betray our country will be held accountable for their crimes. We are grateful for the extraordinary efforts of the FBI Denver and Washington Field Offices on this case.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray warned that there would be consequences for betraying the trust in protecting national defense information. “This sentence should serve as a stark warning to all those tasked with protecting national defense information that there are consequences for betraying that trust,” Wray said.
