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Tag:
Espionage
Alexandria, VA
Politics
‘Disgraceful Betrayal:' Alexandria Worker With Top Secret Clearance Sold Out To China, Feds Say
A Virginia man who worked for the US Department of State is heading to prison after federal prosecutors say he sold out his country by transmitting classified information to people he knew were Chinese government agents. Michael Charles Schena, 42, of Alexandria, was sentenced to four years in federal prison for conspiring to collect and transmit national defense information, the US Attorney’s Office in Virginia announced. Schena, who held a Top Secret clearance, admitted he passed sensitive government information in exchange for cash. Prosecutors said he “deliberately undermined US …
Saddle Brook-Elmwood Park, NJ
News
Bergen County Dad Living In $1M Home Who Smuggled Tech, Ammo For Russia Sentenced: DOJ
Two suburban husbands — one from New Jersey, the other from New Hampshire — lived comfortable family lives while secretly helping Russia obtain U.S.-made technology and sniper ammunition, federal prosecutors announced on Tuesday, Aug. 19. Vadim Yermolenko, 43, of Upper Saddle River, NJ, a dual U.S. and Russian citizen, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for his role in the illicit network, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. His co-defendant, Alexey Brayman, 38, of Merrimack, NH, an Israeli citizen born in Ukraine, pleaded guilty and is awaiting se…
Alexandria, VA
Politics
Anti-Trump VA Defense Worker Tried Leaking Intel: 'I Don’t Align With This Administration:' DOJ
A Virginia-based US government employee who said he didn’t support the current administration tried to pass classified military intel to a foreign country — but the FBI was watching from the start, officials said. A Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) IT specialist with "Top Secret" clearance was arrested in northern Virginia after he allegedly tried to leak national defense information to a foreign government — citing his personal opposition to the current administration as his reason, federal officials announced. Today, an IT specialist employed by the Defense Intelligence Agency was arr…
Montgomery, NJ
News
'Sushi John' Seized By ICE Accused Of Espionage Charges Runs Skillman Noodle Shop: Report
A New Jersey restaurant owner known to locals as “Sushi John” has been arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after being convicted of acting as an agent of a foreign government, according to federal officials and NJ Advance Media. ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations in Newark took Ming Xi Zhang into custody on March 24, according to a statement from immigration officials put out last month. Zhang remains detained in ICE custody, the agency said in a statement. “Any illegal alien conducting activities related to espionage, sabotage or export control against the United State…
Newark, NJ
Police & Fire
Chinese Spy Arrested In Newark: ICE
A man who had been living in the United States for almost 25 years was arrested by ICE on Monday, March 24, on charges he was a Chinese spy, authorities said. Ming Xi Zhang was apprehended in Newark by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement after he was sentenced to three years of probation last year for unlawfully acting as an agent of a foreign government, authorities said. “Any illegal alien conducting activities related to espionage, sabotage or export control against the United States is subject to deportation,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Newark Field Office Director John Tso…
North Salem, NY
Lifestyle
North Salem's Richard Gere Flips Middle Finger On 'Today' Show: Here's Why
Richard Gere began his latest appearance on the "Today" show with a gesture that had to be blurred. The "An Officer and a Gentleman" actor, age 75, appeared on NBC's "Today" on Wednesday, Nov. 20, and started his interview with co-anchor Savannah Guthrie by giving a middle finger, according to a report by People. The gesture prompted shock from Guthrie, who joked, "You just did an obscene gesture on this family morning show! I'm bleeping you!" If you're wondering why Gere chose to start off his appearance like that, it's because the show had just shown a clip from his new …
Fairfax, VA
News
Department Of Defense Engineer From Virginia Charged With Taking Classified Documents: Feds
An engineer from Istanbul living in Virginia who worked for the Department of Defense has been accused of taking classified documents without permission, federal authorities announced on Tuesday. Falls Church resident Gokhan Gun, 50, a civilian engineer for the DoD, has been charged in federal court with unauthorized removal and retention of classified material following an investigation that was launched earlier this year. According to court documents, "through his employment, Gun possesses a Top Secret security clearance with access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) a…
Hamilton Township, NJ
News
Prisoner Swap: First Photo Shows New Jersey WSJ Reporter In Release From Russian Captivity
Evan Gershkovich is a free man. The 32-year-old New Jersey native was among three United States residents released from prison in Russia in on Thursday, Aug. 1, in what's being called the biggest prisoner swap between since 1991. Gershkovich, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, and radio journalism Alsu Kurmasheva, were the prisoners released to American soil. The massive swap freed more than two dozen prisoners from six different countries. A photo shared by President Joe Biden to X shows the former hostages smiling, and proudly displaying an American flag, on an airplane. "…
Gaithersburg, MD
News
Government Contractor With 'Top Secret' Security Clearance Accused Of Espionage In DC: DOJ
A government contractor living in Maryland has been accused of espionage by federal officials in Washington, DC, authorities announced. Abraham Teklu Lemma, 50, a naturalized US citizen from Ethiopia who lives in Silver Spring is facing series charges for allegedly conspiring with a foreign government, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Thursday. Lemma worked as an IT administrator for the Department of State and as a Management Analyst for the Department of Justice, which led to him being granted a "TOP SECRET" security clearance and access to classified systems. Prosecutors sa…
White Plains, NY
News
White Plains HS Grad Returns To US After Years-Long Imprisonment In Iran
A man who graduated from a high school in Westchester has been returned to American soil after being detained in Iran for almost eight years. Siamak Namazi, who once lived in Westchester, was returned home to the US along with four other American citizens on Monday, Sept. 18, President Joe Biden announced. Namazi is a graduate of White Plains High School, according to a report by NBC News. He had been wrongfully detained in Iran since October 2015, when he was accused of espionage. His father, Baquer Namazi, was also arrested in Iran in 2016 and detained until his release in 2022. Nam…
Fairfax, VA
Police & Fire
Virginia FBI Agent Convicted Of Spying For Russia, Robert Hanssen, Found Dead In Fed Pen
Notorious FBI agent-turned-spy, Robert Hanssen, was found dead in his cell at a maximum security prison in Colorado, various news outlets are reporting citing federal officials. The 79-year-old former Vienna, VA resident was apparently found unresponsive just before 7 a.m. on Monday, June 5, the Washington Post reports. Purported attempts to save him were unsuccessful. Hanssen's case is considered among the most egregious espionage cases in US history. In February 2001, federal investigators learned Hanssen was set to make a dead drop at Foxstone Park in Fairfax County, a place where he'd…
Hamilton Township, NJ
News
Schumer, McConnell Call For Release Of WSJ Reporter, NJ Native Charged With Espionage
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) can agree on one thing: they want reporter Evan Gershkovich, a Mercer County native, to be released after he was charged with espionage in Russia while reporting for the Wall Street Journal. The duo released a rare joint statement on Friday, April 7, calling for his release. Gershkovich was charged with espionage "in the interests of his country," according to Russian state media. "We strongly condemn the wrongful detention of U.S. citizen and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, and de…
Newark, NJ
News
13 Chinese Nationals Charged With Multiple Acts Of Espionage By Feds In Washington, NJ, NY
Thirteen people, including members of China’s security and intelligence services, have been charged with trying to recruit professors and others in the United States to act as agents for their country, federal authorities in New York, New Jersey and Washington, DC announced. Tales of international intrigue include allegations that the defendants plotted to steal documents from a federal prosecutor's office to subvert a criminal investigation into a major Chinese company. Some of them are also charged in a spy-versus-spy encounter involving a $41,000 bribe in Bitcoin paid to an American…
Brentwood, NY
Politics
Congressman Asks Biden For Help In Case Of NY Businessman Being Held In China
New York Congressman Tom Suozzi is urging President Biden to take action in the case of a Long Island businessman who the United Nations says is being wrongfully detained in China. Rep. Suozzi, a Democrat whose district includes most of the North Shore of Long Island, sent a letter to Biden on Wednesday, July 20, asking him to personally intervene on behalf of Kai Li. The 60-year-old Chinese American, who lives in Huntington and emigrated to the US from Shanghai in 1989, was sentenced to 10-years in prison in 2018 on charges of espionage and spying for the FBI. Li was convicted following…
Glen Burnie, MD
News
Navy Engineer, Wife Admit Trying To Sell American Submarine Secrets For Cryptocurrency: Feds
The wife of a former Navy engineer from Maryland has also admitted in federal court that she helped him try to sell some of America’s best kept submarine secrets to a foreign country in exchange for cryptocurrency. Diana Toebbe, 46, of Annapolis, served as a lookout while her husband, Jonathan Toebbe, 43, serviced three “dead-drops," which were picked up by undercover FBI agents during a year-long sting operation, federal prosecutors said Friday. Diana pleaded guilty to conspiracy to communicate Restricted Data — four days after her husband admitted to the same. The Toebbes were …
Gettysburg, PA
News
Nuclear Engineer, Wife Used PA Address To Contact Undercover FBI Agent, Authorities Say
Much like a story out of a spy thriller, a Maryland couple was arrested in West Virginia after using a Pennsylvania home address to commit espionage by selling restricted data to an undercover FBI agent. Jonathan, 42, and Diana Toebbe, 45, of Annapolis, Maryland, were arrested in Jefferson County, West Virginia, and charged with violations of the Atomic Energy Act by the FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service on Saturday. “The complaint charges a plot to transmit information relating to the design of our nuclear submarines to a foreign nation,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Gar…
Newark, NJ
Lifestyle
The Ragnarök Vaults: Former NJ Reporter Pens Cold War Spy Novel
The Cold War loomed over Michael Perrota's childhood growing up in Nutley in the 1980s. Nearly every movie he watched, book he read and video game he played served as stark reminders of the past. Perrota developed a fascination with the war, devoting much of his time trying to understand it and how it affected the modern world. After more than a decade of research and writing, Perrota published "The Ragnarök Vaults: A Thomas Braddock Novel" -- a Cold War spy novel that hit the shelves last month. "In the end, it's a fun a spy novel," said Perrota, a dad of three from Fair Lawn. "But withi…
Mount Pleasant, NY
News
Nypd
Officer Accused Of Acting As Illegal Agent For China
A Long Island man working for the NYPD has been arrested for allegedly acting as an agent for a foreign government and spying on New Yorkers, prosecutors said. Baimadajie Angwang, 33, who was born in the autonomous region of Tibet in China and now lives in Williston Park in Nassau County, was arrested on Monday, Sept. 21 for allegedly reporting to officials at the Chinese consulate about the activities of Tibetans in New York. In addition to his work as an NYPD officer, Angwang also serves in the U.S. Army Reserve. It is alleged that Angwang, who works in the 111th precinct in Queens, init…
Mount Pleasant, NY
News
Warning From Homeland Security, FBI: Russia Wants To Hack Your ISP Router
With the entire world watching what turn the international Russian conflict takes next, federal officials are warning area residents that a cyber strike could be the newest threat as hackers target routers and other network devices. The Department of Homeland Security, FBI and United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre issued a joint Technical Alert on the “worldwide cyber exploitation of network infrastructure devices (such as a) router, switch, firewall, Network-based Intrusion Detection System (NIDS) devices by Russian state-sponsored cyber actors.” Officials said that targets are p…
