US: Former security officer pleads guilty to having tried to sell secrets to Russian agent

Washington DC, USA

A former security officer in the US has pleaded guilty to having tried to sell classified national security information to a Russian agent.

Army veteran Jareh Sebastian Dalke, 31 years old, allegedly sold the information to an undercover FBI agent, who he thought was a Russian agent.

Now, according to the plea deal, prosecutors have asked for 22 years in prison for the Colorado man for accepting the allegations, even as a crime of this severity attracts a possible life sentence. 

The judge will decide his fate in April next year when his sentence will be announced.

Dalke’s engagements with the ‘Russian agent’

Dalke told the undercover FBI agent that his heritage ties him “to your country” and that he wanted to “cause change” after the USA’s role in “damaging the world.”

In court documents, he also said he was $237,000 in debt.

According to the plea deal, he was paid $16,499 in cryptocurrency last year for excerpts of some documents that he passed on to the agent to show what he had, and then he offered to sell the rest of the information he had for $85,000.

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The agent instructed him to visit Denver's downtown train station on September 28, 2022, and send the documents through a secure digital connection within a four-hour timeframe. Dalke, who had his laptop with him, initially used the connection to send a thank-you letter in Russian, expressing his anticipation of a mutually beneficial friendship, as outlined in the plea deal. 

Shortly after he transferred all the files from his laptop, FBI agents apprehended him.

What classified information did Dalke try to sell?

As stated in the indictment, the information Dalke intended to provide to Russia involved a threat assessment of the military capabilities of an undisclosed third country. 

It also included details about sensitive US defence capabilities, some of which pertained to the same foreign nation.

The terms of the plea deal stipulate that Dalke must cooperate with authorities, sharing truthful and valuable insights into his actions and their consequences.

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Dalke had previously worked as an information systems security designer for the National Security Agency, the US intelligence agency responsible for gathering and analysing signals from both foreign and domestic sources for intelligence and counterintelligence purposes. 

Following his departure and the transfer of classified information to an undercover agent, prosecutors allege that he reapplied for a position at the NSA.

(With inputs from agencies)