By Jan Wolfe
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A former U.S. Navy engineer charged with attempting to sell secrets about nuclear submarines to a foreign power has pleaded guilty as part of a deal with federal prosecutors, a government lawyer said on Monday.
A prosecutor announced the plea deal during a hearing before a magistrate judge in Martinsburg, West Virginia, which is still ongoing.
Jonathan Toebbe, former U.S. Navy engineer, was arrested on Oct. 9 in Jefferson County, West Virginia, following a year-long sting operation by undercover FBI agents, the Justice Department said in a statement. He has been in federal custody since he was arrested along with his wife, Diana Toebbe, who has pleaded not guilty.
Toebbe, a former nuclear engineer with top-secret security clearance, is accused of sending Navy documents to an unnamed foreign entity in 2020, along with instructions on how to obtain additional information.
(Reporting by Jan Wolfe)
