Fbi Offers $200,000 Reward To Catch Ex-air Force Specialist Wanted On Espionage Charges In Iran

WASHINGTON — The FBI is offering a $200,000 reward for accusation starring to seizure and prosecution of a erstwhile U.S. Air Force counterintelligence master who defected to Iran successful 2013 and was later charged pinch revealing classified accusation to nan Tehran government.

Monica Elfriede Witt, 47, was indicted by a national expansive assemblage successful February 2019 connected charges of espionage, including transmitting nationalist defense accusation to nan authorities of Iran. She remains astatine large.

Witt “allegedly betrayed her oath to nan Constitution much than a decade agone by defecting to Iran and providing nan Iranian authorities National Defense Information and apt continues to support their nefarious activities,” Daniel Wierzbicki, typical supplier successful complaint of nan FBI Washington Field Office’s Counterintelligence and Cyber Division, said successful a news merchandise Wednesday.

“The FBI has not forgotten and believes that during this captious infinitesimal successful Iran’s history, location is personification who knows thing astir her whereabouts.”

It wasn’t instantly known why nan FBI was bringing attraction to Witt’s case. The United States and Iran person been astatine warfare since Feb. 28.

Witt served successful nan Air Force betwixt 1997 and 2008, wherever she was trained successful nan Farsi connection and was deployed overseas connected classified counterintelligence missions, including to nan Middle East. She later recovered activity arsenic a Defense Department contractor.

The Texas autochthonal defected to Iran successful 2013 aft being invited to 2 all-expense-paid conferences successful nan state that nan Justice Department says promoted anti-Western propaganda and condemned American civilized standards.

Before that, Witt had been warned by nan FBI astir her activities, but told agents that she would not supply delicate accusation astir her activity if she returned to Iran, prosecutors said.

According to nan indictment, Witt placed astatine consequence “sensitive and classified U.S. nationalist defense accusation and programs,” nan news merchandise said.

“Witt allegedly intentionally provided accusation endangering U.S unit and their families stationed abroad. She besides allegedly conducted investigation connected behalf of nan Iranian authorities to let them to target her erstwhile colleagues successful nan U.S. government,” it said.