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Jareh Sebastian Dalke

Jareh Sebastian Dalke, 31, of Colorado Springs, pleaded guilty 23 October 2023 to six counts of attempting to transmit classified National Defense Information (NDI) to an agent of the Russian Federation (Russia).

Jareh Sebastian DALKE (DALKE}, is a U.S. citizen. Prior to his arrest, he resided in Colorado Springs, Colorado. DALKE obtained a B.S. in Cybersecurity and Information Assurance from Western Governor's University in 2019. From 2015 to 2018, DALKE was a member of the U.S. Army. DALKE served as an E-3 Private First Class, Military Occupational Specialty 68W Health Care Specialist, and held a Secret security clearance, which he received in 2016. DALKE has also served as a volunteer with the Colorado Rangers, a volunteer law enforcement reserve group, which supports law enforcement agencies throughout Colorado.

An Online Covert Employee (OCE) is defined as a Special Agent of the FBI, or sworn law enforcement officer of a federal, state, or local law enforcement agency working under the direction and control of the FBI and whose identity as an employee of the FBI or another law enforcement agency is concealed from third parties with whom the OCE is interacting/communicating with online.

According to court documents, from June 6, 2022, to July 1, 2022, Dalke was an employee of the National Security Agency (NSA) where he served as an Information Systems Security Designer. In addition to DALKE's Top Secret clearance, he maintained sensitive compartmented access (SCI) to other highly classified programs. Shortly after he began working at the NSA, DALKE requested a 9-month leave of absence to help a family member with a medical condition. On June 28, 2022, after his extended leave request was denied, DALKE submitted his resignation to the NSA. DALKE subsequently re-applied for employment with the NSA. He accepted a new position, assigned to the same NSA facility in Maryland, on or about September 28, 2022.

On July 29, 2022, using an email account created for this purpose, a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Online Covert Employee (OCE) sent an email to Email Account-1. Email Account-1 was hosted by a particular Foreign Email Provider which offers its users a combination of public-key cryptography and symmetric encryption protocols to provide end-to-end encryption, meaning that only the sender and intended recipient can read the email messages in plain text. In this email, the OCE stated, in sum and substance, that he had been informed that he should reach out to Email Account-1 to discuss items of mutual benefit. Email Account-1 belonged to DALKE, and DALKE had sole and exclusive use of Email Account-1 at all times relevant to the charges to which DALKE pled guilty.

DALKE responded to the OCE on or about August 1, 2022, and requested that their communications continue through the Foreign Email Provider. DALKE stated that he was an employee of the U.S. government and that he put in for the situation he was currently in because he had "questioned our role in damage to the world in the past and by mixture of curiosity for secrets and a desire to cause change." DALKE told the OCE that he had "exfiltrated some information that is of a very high level." DALKE further noted that he was in financial need and was seeking compensation via a specific type of cryptocurrency in return for providing information he had procured, stating, "[t]here is an opportunity to help balance scales of the world while also tending to my own needs." DALKE requested payment in the specific type of cryptocurrency because "as in these things privacy is extremely important."

Dalke admitted that between August and September 2022, in order to demonstrate both his “legitimate access and willingness to share,” he used an encrypted email account to transmit excerpts of three classified documents to an individual he believed to be a Russian agent. In actuality, that person was an FBI online covert employee. All three documents from which the excerpts were taken contain NDI, are classified as Top Secret//Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) and were obtained by Dalke during his employment with the NSA.

Classified Document 1 is a 22-page threat assessment of Russia's military offensive capabilities. Classified Document 2 is a 31-page document containing information regarding plans to update a certain cryptographic program. Classified Document 3 is a 40-page document containing information related to sensitive U.S. defense capabilities, a portion of which relates to Russia.

On or about Aug. 26, 2022, Dalke requested $85,000 in return for all the information in his possession. Dalke claimed the information would be of value to Russia and told the FBI online covert employee that he would share more information in the future, once he returned to the Washington, DC, area.

Dalke subsequently arranged to transfer additional classified information in his possession to the purported Russian agent at Union Station in downtown Denver. Using a laptop computer and the instructions provided by the FBI online covert employee, Dalke transferred five files, four of which contain Top Secret NDI. The other file was a letter, which begins (in Russian and Cyrillic characters) “My friends!” and states, in part, “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.” The FBI arrested Dalke on Sept. 28, moments after he transmitted the files.

As part of his plea agreement, Dalke admitted that he willfully transmitted files to the FBI online covert employee with the intent and reason to believe the information would be used to injure the United States and to benefit Russia.

Dalke faced a maximum penalty of up to life in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for April 26, 2024. A U.S. district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Cole Finegan for the District of Colorado and Executive Assistant Director Larissa L. Knapp of the FBI's National Security Branch made the announcement. The FBI Washington and Denver Field Offices investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julia K. Martinez and Jena R. Neuscheler for the District of Colorado and Trial Attorneys Christina A. Clark and Adam L. Small of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section prosecuted the case.