A former US naval engineer and his wife pleaded guilty to selling closely guarded nuclear submarine plans with a person they believed represented a foreign government, but federal prosecutors and court proceedings have shielded the name of that country over the last two years.
According to The New York Times, Jonathan and Diana Toebbe agreed to approach a country that sought such designs but did not pose a threat to the US: Brazil.
In 2020, Mr Toebbe negotiated the trade of Virginia-class nuclear submarine plans – hidden in memory cards stored in a sandwich, a Band-Aid and a gum wrapper – for thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency, according to federal prosecutors.
The FBI reportedly obtained a package intended for Brazilian officials that contained operational manuals and other information – all marked “CONFIDENTIAL” – as well as instructions to communicate with the sender, in what appeared to be an attempt to establish a covert relationship, court documents revealed.
Court proceedings and officials with the US Department of Justice did not reveal what country Mr Toebbe tried to contact. But according to The New York Times, citing Brazilian officials and people briefed on the investigation, Mr Toebbe sent a package to Brazil’s military intelligence agency in April 2020 with an offer to trade thousands of pages of classified documents about nuclear reactors he obtained through the US Navy. Brazilian officials then handed the letter to the FBI.
The Independent has requested comment from the US Attorney’s office for the Northern District of West Virginia.
Federal prosecutors have never alleged that the Toebbes ever actually managed to share submarine plans with a foreign power or that another country obtained the information they tried to sell, only that the couple believed they were sharing such information with a non-adversarial power.
One week before Russian forces invaded Ukraine, Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro reportedly discussed nuclear submarine technology with officials during a trip to Moscow, following Brazil’s years-long programme to introduce nuclear-powered submarines into its naval fleet.
The meeting drew criticism from President Joe Biden’s administration, with the White House press secretary saying that the Bolsonaro administration “appeared to be on the opposite side of the global community.”
A senior Biden administration official said this week that “broadly speaking, we believe that seeking to acquire Russian military technology is a bad bet for any country.”
Jonathan and his wife Diana Toebbe, a teacher, both of Annapolis, Maryland, initially pleaded not guilty to charges against them on 20 October. An indictment accuses them of conspiracy to communicate restricted data and two counts of communication of restricted data.
In February, the couple pleaded guilty to conspiring to sell restricted data.
As part of her plea deal in US District Court, which could come with a prison sentence of up to three years, Ms Toebbe admitted that she “knowingly and voluntarily joined a conspiracy” with her husband, including acting as a “lookout” while he performed “drops” of restricted information.
Under his plea agreement, Mr Toebbe could be sentenced up to 17 years in prison and has agreed to assist federal investigators with recovering classified documents and cryptocurrency funds he received in exchange.
A sentencing date is set for 16 August.
