NSA Employee Emailed Top Secret Info To Unauthorized Person: Officials

HANOVER, MD — A Hanover man who works for the National Security Agency has been indicted on 26 criminal charges related to the emailing of top-secret classified defense information.

Mark Robert Unkenholz, 60, was charged with emailing classified national security information to somebody who wasn’t authorized to receive it, according to a federal indictment unsealed Thursday.

Federal prosecutors said Unkenholz also used his personal email to share classified information.

Thirteen counts of willful transmission of national defense information say that Unkenholz emailed top secret material between February 2018 and June 2020 to an unidentified worker's private company email addresses.

That person had clearance for classified material at one time but later did not, the U.S. attorney alleges.

Another 13 counts of the indictment claim that Unkenholz kept copies of the classified information on his personal email.

Prosecutors said that from July 2019 until January 2021, the unnamed person Unkenholz shared emails with had changed jobs and wasn’t authorized to access or receive classified information, court documents said.

Each count carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years. Federal sentencing guidelines typically recommend sentences far below the maximum, The Associated Press reported.

Unkenholz pleaded not guilty to all 26 counts at his initial court appearance. A public defender appointed to represent him did not comment to the Associated Press.

Unkenholz was arrested Thursday but ordered released after his court appearance in Baltimore, according to the AP.

Related: Suspects In Annapolis Espionage Case Plead Guilty: Report

This case follows the recent prosecution of an Annapolis husband and wife who pleaded guilty to espionage-related crimes.

Jonathan Toebbe, 43, pleaded guilty Feb. 14 to one count of conspiracy to communicate restricted data, the Associated Press reported. On Feb. 18, his wife, Diana Toebbe, 46, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to communicate restricted data related to the design of nuclear-powered warships.

Federal prosecutors said Diana Toebbe served as a lookout while her husband left information at three "dead-drops."

The couple 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, using decoy containers such as a peanut butter sandwich and a chewing gum package.