A former National Security Agency employee from Colorado pleaded guilty Monday in connection with his attempt to sell American secrets to the Russians.
Jareh Sebastian Dalke, 31, a Colorado Springs resident, pleaded guilty to six counts of attempting to transmit national defense information to a foreign government. As part of the agreement, prosecutors said they will recommend 262 months in prison — though a federal judge will ultimately determine the sentence.
He faced a potential death sentence after being charged last year with three violations of the Espionage Act.
Dalke, as part of a plea deal, admitted to transmitting files last year to an undercover FBI agent with the intent to injure the United States and benefit Russia, according to the agreement.
Between August and September 2022, Dalke used an encrypted email account to send excerpts of three classified documents to the FBI agent, believing them to be a Russian agent, authorities said. He requested $85,000 in exchange for the classified information.
He told the agent that “he had taken highly sensitive information relating to foreign targeting of U.S. systems, and information on U.S. cyber operations, among other topics,” prosecutors said.
Dalke then arranged to transfer additional information to the supposed agent at Denver’s Union Station.
“My friends!” the NSA worker wrote in a letter included in court documents. “I am very happy to finally provide this information to you… I look forward to our friendship and shared benefit. Please let me know if there are desired documents to find and I will try when I return to my main office.”
Moments after he sent the files on Sept. 28, 2022, the FBI arrested Dalke.
He is set to be sentenced April 26.
Dalke was a state-certified Colorado law enforcement officer who has served with the Colorado Rangers, a volunteer organization that provides reserve police officers to agencies statewide.
He previously served in the U.S. Army as a private first-class.
In 2017, he filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, saying he owed tens of thousands in student loan and credit card debt.
Investigators say Dalke expressed disillusionment with the U.S. and its treatment of military service members. He reached out to Russia, authorities said, after learning of his familial ties to the country.
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