Annapolis Espionage Case: Judge Rejects Plea Deals, Schedules Trial

ANNAPOLIS, MD — A federal judge on Tuesday rejected plea deals for an Annapolis couple at the center of an espionage case, the Associated Press reported. The judge said the sentences were "strikingly deficient" for the husband and wife accused of trying to sell Navy secrets to an unidentified foreign country.

The AP said the main suspect, Jonathan Toebbe, would have spent 12 to 17 years in prison. Jonathan Toebbe was a nuclear engineer for the Department of the Navy who had a top-secret security clearance. Diana Toebbe, who is accused of being his accomplice, would've gotten three years.

The suspects each pleaded guilty in February to one count of conspiracy to communicate restricted data, AP journalist John Raby said. The Toebbes each withdrew their guilty pleas on Tuesday, however. U.S. District Judge Gina Groh then scheduled their trial to start on Jan. 17, 2023.

The investigation first made headlines in October 2021 when officials accused the couple of conspiring to sell government secrets. Prosecutors said the suspects thought they were working with a foreign government, but they were really coordinating with an undercover FBI agent trying to catch them.

The suspects then agreed to sell three files on nuclear-powered warships to the undercover agent in exchange for $100,000 in cryptocurrency, the government said.

Authorities said they eventually caught the suspects hiding several encrypted SD cards in West Virginia and Virginia. Investigators alleged that the Toebbes used decoy containers like a peanut butter sandwich and a chewing gum package.

The U.S. Department of Justice said Diana Toebbe was a lookout during the drop-offs that her husband made.

The FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service arrested the couple on Oct. 9, 2021, in Jefferson County, West Virginia.

Diana Toebbe asked the court for permission to stay home with the couple's two children until the trial. Washington Post journalist Devlin Barrett said a judge rejected that request on Oct. 21, 2021, calling the mother a flight risk.

To learn more about the case, read the full story from the Associated Press.

Related:

• Suspects In Annapolis Espionage Case Plead Guilty: Report
• Annapolis Espionage Trial Postponed Until 2022: Report
• Annapolis Spy Suspect Must Stay In Prison Until Trial: Report
• MD Couple Faces Espionage Charges Over Secret Data: FBI