A former NSA employee has pleaded guilty to six federal espionage charges after he was caught trying to share secrets with an FBI posing as a foreign agent.
Jareh Sebastian Dalke, a 31-year-old Army vet from Colorado Springs, faced a possible life sentence for spreading the information but will serve only 22 years when he is sentenced in April, prosecutors said Monday.
Dalke was arrested three weeks ago during a raid on his home and worked at the agency for less than a month in 2022.
He then attempted to sell three documents he still had in his possession for approximately $85,000 worth of untraceable cryptocurrency.
Dalke believed the buyer was a Russian agent and used an encrypted email to send fragments of the stolen files to him between August and September of that year to demonstrate both his “legitimate access and his willingness to share,” say the FBI.
Dalke promised more and then arranged to turn over other files to the alleged agent during a physical meeting in a Denver metro station.
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Former NSA employee Jareh Sebastian Dalke, 31, has pleaded guilty to six federal espionage charges after he was caught trying to share secrets with a Fed posing as a foreign agent. The FBI stormed his Colorado Springs home in September 2022. He has been in federal custody since then
The guns drawn attack on the modest home left the army doctor’s neighbors stunned, with one resident of the suburb telling KKTV at the time: ‘He seemed like a normal guy’
Using a laptop and instructions from the FBI agent, Dalke transferred five files, four of which contained top secret information, his affidavit said.
The other file was a letter, which began in Russian with “My friends!” and says, “I’m very pleased to finally bring you this information. . . . I look forward to our friendship and our shared benefit.”
It adds: ‘If any desired documents can be found, please let me know and I will try when I get back to my headquarters.’
The FBI arrested Dalke on September 28 of that year, shortly after he transferred the files. Shortly afterwards, they launched an armed attack on his modest home in Colorado Springs, startling his neighbors.
When speaking to local media at the time, they described the former NSA Information Systems Security Designer as an average guy.
“He seemed like a normal guy,” a suburban resident told KKTV of the man who prosecutors say had student loans he was trying to pay off.
“I don’t know,” he continued, visibly put off by the daytime raid. “You never know your neighbors, I guess.”
Dalke allegedly worked at the NSA from June 6 to July 1, reportedly possessed credentials in cybersecurity, but was still able to work with multiple documents containing classified National Defense information.
He has been in federal custody since then and told U.S. District Judge Raymond Moore on Monday that he has been taking medication for mental illness since his arrest.
Dalke initially pleaded not guilty to all charges against him before changing his plea to guilty this week. It is not yet known on Monday what his sentence will be
Dalke spoke only in response to questions from Moore about whether he understood the terms of the deal, which included pleading guilty to all six charges of attempting to transmit national defense information to an office or agent of a foreign government.
He spoke only in response to questions from Moore about whether he understood the terms of the deal, which included pleading guilty to all six charges of attempting to transmit national defense information to an office or agent of a foreign government.
Prosecutors say Dalke’s history also includes his time in the military, where he served as a private and volunteer police officer in the Colorado Reserves.
The Reserves, also known as the Rangers, assist local law enforcement during events that are considered a crisis.
He trained in cybersecurity and told the FBI he had both a bachelor’s and master’s degree.
His stint at the NSA was short-lived, ending after an exit interview in which he said he had to help a sick relative, but the job did not allow enough time to do so.
According to the indictment, the information Dalke attempted to provide Russia included a threat assessment of the military offensive capabilities of a third, unnamed country.
It also includes a description of sensitive US defense capabilities, some of which involve that same foreign country.
He allegedly told the undercover agent that he was $237,000 in debt and that he decided to work with Russia because his ancestry “can be traced back to your country.”
He has been in federal custody since last September and told U.S. District Judge Raymond Moore on Monday that he has been taking medication for mental illness since his arrest.
Pictured: NSA headquarters at Fort Meade, Maryland. Dalke worked for the NSA for just a month in the summer of 2022 before attempting to sell top-secret US information to Russian adversaries
Before turning over the classified information, Dalke sent a thank-you letter that opened and closed in Russian and said he “looked forward to our friendship and shared benefit,” according to the court documents.
Dalke worked as an information systems security designer for the NSA, the U.S. intelligence agency that collects and analyzes signals from foreign and domestic sources for intelligence and counterintelligence purposes.
After he left and gave the classified information to the undercover agent, prosecutors say he reapplied for the NSA.
During a hearing last year, Dalke’s federal public defender downplayed Dalke’s access to classified information, considering he had only been with the NSA for less than a month.
Dalke initially pleaded not guilty to all charges against him before changing his plea to guilty this week. As of Monday, it is unknown what his sentence will be.