CNN
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A US Navy nuclear engineer and his wife have each been sentenced to about two decades behind bars for conspiring to sell classified information related to the design of nuclear-powered warships to a foreign country in exchange for thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency.
The Justice Department announced Wednesday that Jonathan Toebbe, 44, of Annapolis, Maryland, was sentenced to more than 19 years. His wife, Diana Toebbe, 46, was sentenced to more than 21 years in prison.
The couple pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy and hoped to get a federal judge in West Virginia to sign off on proposed plea agreements for lesser sentences. Judge Gina Groh rejected the agreements stating that it was not in the best interest of the country to accept the deals in which Jonathan Toebbe could have been sentenced to between 12 and 18 years in prison, while his wife could have been sentenced to up to three years in prison.
The Toebbes pleaded guilty again in September as part of new agreements that exposed them to longer potential sentences, according to court documents.
The couple coordinated drop-offs of encrypted SD cards containing classified information about nuclear submarines, specifically Virginia-class vessels, for who they believed were members of a foreign government in exchange for thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency, according to a criminal…
