A US authorities contractor working as an IT administrator on the State division is going through a most penalty of demise or life in jail after being arrested on critical espionage prices.
Abraham Teklu Lemma, 50, of Silver Spring, Maryland, has been charged with delivering nationwide protection data to help a international authorities, conspiracy to ship nationwide protection data to help a international authorities and willful retention of nationwide protection data.
Between December 2022 and August 2023, the naturalized US citizen of Ethiopian descent is alleged to have copied secret and prime secret intelligence reviews, deleted the classification markings and retained the data with out authorization.
He’s then accused of sending the data to a international authorities intelligence officer by way of an encrypted messaging utility.
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The Division of Justice was tight lipped over which nation Lemma had allegedly been conspiring to ship protection secrets and techniques to, however reviews recommend it was Ethiopia.
Among the many data Lemma allegedly despatched to his contact had been satellite tv for pc imagery, intel on insurgent group exercise and different data relating to US army exercise within the international nation and area in query.
The authorities additionally has a document of Lemma apparently speaking with the international operative, expressing an curiosity in supplying them with intelligence in particular areas.
Lemma allegedly made a number of journeys to the nation and has household there.
A State Division spokesperson revealed that Lemma’s alleged nefarious exercise was solely uncovered after the company started a evaluate of its categorized networks following the Pentagon leak revelations, based on CBS Information.
Along with the 2 espionage prices, Lemma is going through as much as 10 years behind bars for the willful retention cost.
In November final 12 months a Maryland couple had been sentenced to 40 years behind bars for making an attempt to promote designs for the US navy’s nuclear-powered warships to a international energy.
