DENVER — A former Nationwide Safety Company worker from Colorado pleaded responsible Monday to attempting to promote labeled nationwide safety info to Russia.
Federal prosecutors agreed to not ask for greater than about 22 years in jail for Jareh Sebastian Dalke when he’s sentenced in April if he adheres to the phrases of a plea deal, however the decide will finally determine his punishment.
Dalke, a 31-year-old Army veteran from Colorado Springs, technically faces as much as a doable life sentence for giving the data to an undercover FBI agent who prosecutors say Dalke believed was a Russian agent. Nonetheless, accepting accountability for a criminal offense often results in a lighter sentence.
Dalke advised the agent that he needed to “trigger change” after questioning america’ function in inflicting harm to the world, however he additionally mentioned he was $237,000 in debt, based on court docket paperwork. He additionally allegedly mentioned he had determined to work with Russia as a result of his heritage “ties again to your nation.”
Dalke pleaded responsible throughout a listening to earlier than U.S. District Choose Raymond Moore. He solely spoke in reply to questions from Moore about whether or not he understood the phrases of the deal. He acknowledged that he has been taking medicines for psychological sickness whereas being held in custody for a couple of 12 months.
Dalke was paid $16,499 in cryptocurrency final 12 months for excerpts of some paperwork that he handed on to the agent to point out what he had, after which he supplied to promote the remainder of the data he had for $85,000, based on the plea deal.
The agent directed him to go to Denver’s downtown prepare station on Sept. 28, 2022, and ship the paperwork utilizing a safe digital connection throughout a four-hour window. Dalke arrived together with his laptop computer and first used the connection to ship a thanks letter that opened and closed in Russian and by which he mentioned he seemed “ahead to our friendship and shared profit,” based on the plea deal. Moments after he used his laptop computer to switch all of the recordsdata, FBI brokers arrested him.
In accordance with the indictment, the data Dalke sought to provide to Russia included a menace evaluation of the army offensive capabilities of a 3rd, unnamed nation. It additionally features a description of delicate U.S. protection capabilities, a few of which pertains to that very same international nation.
The plea deal requires, amongst different issues, that Dalke agree to speak to authorities about his crimes and supply truthful, correct and beneficial details about what occurred.
Dalke labored as an info programs safety designer for the NSA, the U.S. intelligence company that collects and analyzes alerts from international and home sources for the aim of intelligence and counterintelligence. After he left and gave the labeled info to the secret agent, prosecutors say he reapplied to work on the NSA.
Throughout a listening to final 12 months, considered one of Dalke’s federal public defenders downplayed Dalke’s entry to labeled info since he solely labored on the NSA for lower than a month.
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