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2d ago

DIA IT Specialist Arrested in FBI Sting for Attempting to Leak Top Secret Data to Foreign Government

He was detained after an undercover FBI operation caught him planning to share classified national defense information out of disillusionment with the U.S. administration.

The J. Edgar Hoover Building, headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), is seen in Washington, D.C., May 29, 2025.
The U.S. Department of Justice logo is seen on a podium before a press conference with Attorney General Pam Bondi, Tuesday, May 6, 2025, at the Justice Department in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
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Overview

  • An FBI tip in March triggered an investigation into Nathan Vilas Laatsch, a 28-year-old DIA insider threat specialist holding a Top Secret clearance.
  • Laatsch communicated with an undercover agent he believed to be a foreign official and transcribed intelligence materials from his secure workstation.
  • On May 1, surveillance recorded him depositing a thumb drive containing Secret and Top Secret documents in a Northern Virginia park.
  • He offered additional classified information and requested foreign citizenship in exchange, covertly exfiltrating more notes between May 15 and 27.
  • Laatsch was arrested on May 29 in Northern Virginia and is scheduled to appear in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia on espionage charges.