He plans to reveal secret documents to the Russians…The FBI doesn't let him get away

A mission that quickly failed… Jareh Sebastian Dalke, who worked at the American cyber intelligence agency, the National Security Agency, or NSA, was offered a sum of $85,000 in exchange for confidential information, “highly classified information related to national defense.”

It was the media outlet Gizmodo, relayed by Korii, that reported the facts. In the summer of 2022, the security designer for the NSA, then aged 32, made contact with 'a Russian spy'.

They first agreed on the terms of the mission. Jareh Sebastian Dalke then met with the supposed Russian spy at Union Station, in downtown Denver, Colorado, carrying a laptop. Dalke allegedly handed over four documents labeled 'top secret NDI' [national defense information, ed. note], “highly classified information related to national defense,” reports Korii.

What did Dalke not know? Beneath the guise of a Russian spy was in fact an agent of the FBI in charge of counter-espionage. The security designer was arrested on the spot.

What a blunder!

The former US Army soldier, as a mole attracted by the prospect of cash, made several blunders during his fake mission. The man notably printed the top-secret documents on his office printer, inevitably getting caught by his employer!

In October 2023, Jareh Sebastian Dalke pleaded guilty to attempted espionage. At that time, he confessed to being neck-deep in debt. He owed $30,000 in student loans and $90,000 to various creditors, reports Korii. In addition to the money, Dalke also discovered he had Russian origins, which justified his contact with the fake spy.

On April 29, 2024, the thirty-year-old was sentenced to 21 years and 10 months in prison.

(MH with Raphaël Liset - Source: Korii - Illustration: ©Unsplash)