WASHINGTON (AP) — A Navy nuclear engineer has pleaded guilty to trying to pass information about American nuclear-powered warships to a foreign country.
Jonathan Toebbe pleaded guilty in federal court in Martinsburg, West Virginia, to a single count of conspiracy to communicate restricted data.
Toebbe and his wife, Diana, of Annapolis, Maryland, were arrested last October after prosecutors said he had repeatedly sold information about the submarines to someone he thought was a representative of a foreign government but who was actually an undercover FBI agent.
The country to which Toebbe was looking to sell the information has not been identified in court documents and was not disclosed during the plea hearing.
According to NBC News, Toebbe could spend nearly 18 years in prison.
His wife has pleaded not guilty, NBC reports. It's unclear whether she will change her plea.
