TL/DR –
Abraham Teklu Lemma, a federal contractor and naturalized US citizen from Ethiopia who worked for the State and Justice departments, has been charged with sending classified US information to Ethiopia. Lemma, 50, faces three charges, including gathering or delivering defense information to aid a foreign government and unauthorized possession of national defense information and willfully retaining it. He is accused of using his security clearance to access highly classified information, which he illegally copied and shared with a foreign agent, and bank records show that Lemma deposited money in several batches to different banks after downloading classified information and after his visits to Ethiopia.
Federal Contractor Charged with Sending Classified Information to Ethiopia
Abraham Teklu Lemma, a 50-year-old federal contractor from Maryland has been charged with leaking classified US information to Ethiopia, according to court documents. Lemma, a naturalized US citizen originally from Ethiopia, worked for several US government agencies since 2019.
Charges against Lemma include gathering or delivering national defense information to aid a foreign government and unauthorized possession and willful retention of such information. The Justice Department’s inspector general and the State Department’s security service are investigating the case.
Lemma’s duties, which included roles as a help desk technician at the State Department and as an analyst for the Justice Department, provided him with clearance to classified information. This access was allegedly misused to illegally copy and share the confidential data with a foreign agent.
From December 2022 to August 2023, Lemma is accused of using his access to probe classified intelligence reports related to Ethiopia, referred to as the “Relevant Country” in court filings. He reportedly copied information from at least 85 intelligence reports and accessed 48 additional reports, from which he printed and downloaded classified data.
The documents allege Lemma also copied intelligence reports onto CDs and DVDs, downloaded multiple top secret items and removed classified markings on these documents. He is accused of sending classified information, including satellite imagery and documents, to an agent from the Ethiopian intelligence service via an encrypted messaging app.
During a visit to Ethiopia earlier this year, Lemma allegedly met with the agent and made physical copies of classified US material through the State Department. Following this, Lemma deposited money in several banks.
The leakage of classified information was discovered during an internal security review of the State Department’s network, systems, and applications. The review was initiated following the arrest of Jack Teixeira, according to State Department spokesperson Matt Miller.
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