Office of Public Affairs Former Defense Contractor Pleads Guilty to Attempted Espionage United States Department of Justice
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ppJohn Murray Rowe Jr 65 of Lead South Dakota pleaded guilty today to one count of attempted delivery of national defense information to a foreign government and three counts of willful communication of national defense informationppAccording to court documents Rowe who is originally from Massachusetts was employed for nearly 40 years as a test engineer for multiple cleared defense contractors In connection with his employment Rowe held various national security clearances from SECRET to TOP SECRETSCI Sensitive Compartmented Information and worked on matters relating to US Air Force electronic warfare technology among other things After committing a number of security violations and revealing a devout interest in Russian affairs Rowe was identified as a potential insider threat and terminated from employmentppIn March 2020 he met with an undercover FBI agent who was posing as an agent of the Russian government During this meeting Rowe disclosed national defense information classified as SECRET that concerned specific operating details of the electronic countermeasure systems used by US military fighter jets among other things Over the course of the next eight months Rowe exchanged over 300 emails with the purported Russian agent confirming his willingness to work for the Russian government and discussing his knowledge of classified information relating to US national security In one email Rowe explained If I cant get a job here then Ill go work for the other team In another email Rowe disclosed classified national defense information concerning the US Air Force In September 2020 Rowe had a second inperson meeting with the undercover FBI agent During this meeting Rowe again disclosed classified national defense informationppRowe was arrested on Dec 15 2021 and was ordered detained pending trial During his pretrial detention at the Philadelphia Federal Detention Center Rowe made at least three unauthorized disclosures of the same classified national defense information concerning the US Air Force to individuals not authorized to receive it namely his brother son and realtor which were captured on recorded prison callsppSentencing is set for Aug 22 and Rowe faces a maximum penalty of life in prison A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factorsppThe FBIs Philadelphia Field Office is investigating the caseppAssistant US Attorney Sarah Wolfe for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Trial Attorney Scott Claffee of the National Security Divisions Counterintelligence and Export Section are prosecuting the caseppAdditional assistance was provided by the Lead SD Police Department the US Attorneys Office for the District of South Dakota the US Air Force Office of Special Investigations the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency and the FBIs Minneapolis Field Office and Rapid City SD Resident AgencyppNicholas John Roske 29 of Simi Valley California was sentenced today to 97 months in federal prison to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release for attempting to killppLatvian national Oleg Chistyakov aka Olegs Čitsjakovs 56 pleaded guilty today for his role in a yearslong conspiracy to circumvent US export laws by filing false export forms with theppA New York man was sentenced today to 108 months in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release for attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State ofppOffice of Public AffairsUS Department of Justice950 Pennsylvania Avenue NWWashington DC 20530ppOffice of Public Affairs Direct Line2025142007ppDepartment of Justice Main Switchboard2025142000ppSignup for Email UpdatesSocial MediappppHave a question about Government Servicesp
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ppJohn Murray Rowe Jr 65 of Lead South Dakota pleaded guilty today to one count of attempted delivery of national defense information to a foreign government and three counts of willful communication of national defense informationppAccording to court documents Rowe who is originally from Massachusetts was employed for nearly 40 years as a test engineer for multiple cleared defense contractors In connection with his employment Rowe held various national security clearances from SECRET to TOP SECRETSCI Sensitive Compartmented Information and worked on matters relating to US Air Force electronic warfare technology among other things After committing a number of security violations and revealing a devout interest in Russian affairs Rowe was identified as a potential insider threat and terminated from employmentppIn March 2020 he met with an undercover FBI agent who was posing as an agent of the Russian government During this meeting Rowe disclosed national defense information classified as SECRET that concerned specific operating details of the electronic countermeasure systems used by US military fighter jets among other things Over the course of the next eight months Rowe exchanged over 300 emails with the purported Russian agent confirming his willingness to work for the Russian government and discussing his knowledge of classified information relating to US national security In one email Rowe explained If I cant get a job here then Ill go work for the other team In another email Rowe disclosed classified national defense information concerning the US Air Force In September 2020 Rowe had a second inperson meeting with the undercover FBI agent During this meeting Rowe again disclosed classified national defense informationppRowe was arrested on Dec 15 2021 and was ordered detained pending trial During his pretrial detention at the Philadelphia Federal Detention Center Rowe made at least three unauthorized disclosures of the same classified national defense information concerning the US Air Force to individuals not authorized to receive it namely his brother son and realtor which were captured on recorded prison callsppSentencing is set for Aug 22 and Rowe faces a maximum penalty of life in prison A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factorsppThe FBIs Philadelphia Field Office is investigating the caseppAssistant US Attorney Sarah Wolfe for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Trial Attorney Scott Claffee of the National Security Divisions Counterintelligence and Export Section are prosecuting the caseppAdditional assistance was provided by the Lead SD Police Department the US Attorneys Office for the District of South Dakota the US Air Force Office of Special Investigations the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency and the FBIs Minneapolis Field Office and Rapid City SD Resident AgencyppNicholas John Roske 29 of Simi Valley California was sentenced today to 97 months in federal prison to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release for attempting to killppLatvian national Oleg Chistyakov aka Olegs Čitsjakovs 56 pleaded guilty today for his role in a yearslong conspiracy to circumvent US export laws by filing false export forms with theppA New York man was sentenced today to 108 months in prison followed by 15 years of supervised release for attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State ofppOffice of Public AffairsUS Department of Justice950 Pennsylvania Avenue NWWashington DC 20530ppOffice of Public Affairs Direct Line2025142007ppDepartment of Justice Main Switchboard2025142000ppSignup for Email UpdatesSocial MediappppHave a question about Government Servicesp
