The Justice Department announced Sunday that a Navy nuclear engineer who had access to military secrets was charged with trying pass on information regarding the design of American nuclear powered submarines to an individual he believed to represent a foreign government. However, he turned out to have been an FBI undercover agent.

A criminal complaint alleging espionage against Jonathan Toebbe states that Toebbe sold nearly a year of information to a contact believing it was a foreign government. In court papers, that country wasn’t named.

According to the Justice Department, Toebbe (42), was taken into custody in West Virginia along with Diana, 45, on Saturday. He had placed a removable card at an unscheduled “dead drop” location in Jefferson County.

However, it wasn’t clear if one of the Toebbes had hired a lawyer. Both Toebbes hail from Annapolis Maryland. The Navy did not comment on Sunday.

According to the FBI, the plot began when Jonathan Toebbe sent documents from Navy to an overseas government in April 2020. He stated that he wanted to sell operations manuals and performance reports as well as other sensitive information.

According to authorities, he provided directions for the conduct of the furtive relationship and a note that stated: “I am sorry for my poor translation into your language. Send this to your military intelligence service. This information is of immense value for your country, I think. This is not an exaggeration.

The package was delivered to the FBI’s foreign office last December with a Pittsburgh address. This led to months of undercover operations in which an agent pretending to be a representative from the foreign government offered thousands of dollars for the Toebbe’s information.

According to the FBI, Toebbe received $10,000 worth of cryptocurrency in June. Toebbe described it as an act of trust and good faith.

FBI agents observed as the Toebbes reached a location in West Virginia to exchange. According to the complaint Diana Toebbe was seen as an observer for her husband, during the dead drop operation. The complaint states that the FBI found the blue SD card, wrapped in plastic and sandwiched between two slices bread with peanut butter.

Toebbe was paid $20,000 by the FBI for the transaction. The contents of Toebbe’s SD card were provided to a Navy subject-matter expert who found that they contained design elements and characteristics typical of Virginia-class submarine reactors. According to the complaint, these submarines were nuclear-powered and sophisticated “cruise missile fast attack submarines.”

Also on the SD card was a message written in type that read: “I hope your specialists are very pleased with the sample supplied and I understand how important it is to have a small trade to increase our trust.” According to the complaint, similar dead-drop exchanges were conducted by the FBI over the following months. One such was in August in Virginia, in which Toebbe received $70,000. He also concealed an SD card inside a package of chewing gum.

According to the complaint, violations are alleged of the Atomic Energy Act. This Act restricts disclosure of information about atomic weapons and nuclear materials.

Expect the Toebbes to appear in court Tuesday, Martinsburg, West Virginia.

The FBI claims that Jonathan Toebbe, who holds a top secret security clearance and is trained in naval propulsion, has been employed by the U.S. government. A laboratory located in Pittsburgh has been also assigned to him, which officials claim works on nuclear power for U.S. Navy.

On Sunday, no one responded to the Toebbe home in Annapolis by the South River. Their home had an exterior light, which was visible above their door. A barking dog was also heard inside.

John Cooley who lives directly across from the Toebbes said more than 30 FBI agents were on his street on Saturday between 2:30 and after dark. According to him, agents entered the house.