Former National Security Agency (NSA) employee Jareh Sebastian Dalke, 32, from Colorado Springs, has been sentenced to 262 months in prison for attempting espionage.
He tried to transmit classified National Defense Information (NDI) to a representative of the Russian Federation.
Dalke pleaded guilty in 2023 to six counts of attempting to transmit classified NDI to a foreign agent. During his employment at the NSA as an Information Systems Security Designer from June 6 to July 1, 2022, Dalke used an encrypted email account to send excerpts of three classified documents to an individual he believed to be a Russian agent, who was, in fact, an FBI online covert employee.
These documents were classified as Top Secret//Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) and contained NDI.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland stated, “This defendant, who had sworn an oath to defend our country, believed he was selling classified national security information to a Russian agent, when in fact, he was outing himself to the FBI.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray emphasized that Dalke’s actions demonstrate the consequences of betraying trust in safeguarding national defense information.
U.S. Attorney Cole Finegan for the District of Colorado highlighted the severity of Dalke’s actions, stating, “This case is an exceptional example of federal law enforcement cooperation, and the sentence Mr. Dalke received today reflects the seriousness of the actions he took in attempt to injure our country and help a foreign government.”
Dalke requested $85,000 in return for the information he possessed, claiming it would be valuable to Russia. He arranged to transfer additional classified information to the purported Russian agent at Union Station in downtown Denver. The FBI arrested Dalke on Sept. 28, 2023, immediately after he transmitted the files.
As part of his plea agreement, Dalke admitted to willfully transmitting files with the intent to injure the United States and benefit Russia.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI Washington and Denver Field Offices. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julia K. Martinez and Jena R. Neuscheler for the District of Colorado, along with Trial Attorneys Christina A. Clark and Adam L. Small of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, handled the prosecution.
