Former Government Contractor From Silver Spring Pleads Guilty To Espionage

SILVER SPRING, MD — Abraham Teklu Lemma, a Silver Spring man and former government contractor, pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to transmit national defense information to the Ethiopian government, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro announced. He was previously charged in 2023 with two espionage offenses.

According to court documents, Lemma, 54, held a top-secret U.S. security clearance and used his access from 2021 until his arrest in 2023 to collect and transmit dozens of highly classified documents, notes, materials and photographs to Ethiopian government officials with whom he was conspiring.

Subscribe

The documents reportedly focused mainly on the regional armed conflict in Ethiopia between the country's government and paramilitary groups attempting to remove the government in Addis Ababa.

"For more than two years, Lemma exploited a position of trust to provide highly classified U.S. government information to a foreign government," Pirro said. "In doing so, he betrayed his oath, his colleagues, and his country, while jeopardizing our national security. His guilty plea sends a clear message: those who compromise America's most sensitive secrets will be investigated, prosecuted, and held accountable."

Lemma was born in Ethiopia and became a naturalized U.S. citizen. He worked as an IT contractor for the State Department. During his conversations with Ethiopian officials, he encouraged them to take action against the paramilitary group.

According to court documents, Lemma traveled to Ethiopia in February 2022 after downloading dozens of documents. After returning to work in July 2022, he downloaded more than 100 additional documents before traveling to Ethiopia again in April 2023 and returning in June.

During his second visit, he worked remotely for the State Department. The complaint states that he used an encrypted messaging app to communicate with a foreign official. Chat logs appeared to show that he arranged a meeting with that official during the visit.

Roughly a month after he returned to the United States, Lemma deposited more than $11,700 in cash into his U.S. bank account, according to court documents. He also made several other large cash deposits during his communications with the foreign official, totaling more than $50,000.

Beyond cash, the foreign official appeared to appeal to Lemma's sense of Ethiopian patriotic duty. In one conversation, the unnamed official praised his efforts, writing, "[a]lways this beautiful country have [sic] some special people who scarify [sic] their life to protect our proud history. You always remembered. It doesn't matter the results."

Under the plea agreement, Lemma agreed to a prison sentence of 10 to 21 years and 10 months, subject to the court's approval. His initial espionage charges carried a potential death sentence.

"Today's guilty plea makes clear that any attempt to betray the United States, violate the trust of the American people, and compromise our national security will not be tolerated," said Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox of the FBI Washington Field Office. "Lemma abused his position of trust and access to some of our nation's most highly classified information, conspiring with foreign government officials to unlawfully disclose materials protected to the highest level. In doing so, he not only endangered our national security but also betrayed the trust placed in him by the American people."

Sentencing is scheduled for April 14, 2027.