Washington — The FBI offers a A reward of $200,000 for anyone providing information This led to the arrest and prosecution of a former US Air Force counterintelligence specialist, who defected to Iran in 2013 and was later charged with disclosing classified information to the Tehran government.
Monica Alfredi Witt, in her forties, He was indicted by a federal grand jury In February 2019 on espionage charges, including passing national defense information to the Iranian government. She is still at large.
Witt “betrayed her oath to the Constitution more than a decade ago by defecting to Iran and providing the Iranian regime with national defense information and will likely continue to support their nefarious activities,” Daniel Wierzbicki, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, said in a press release on Wednesday.
He added: “The FBI has not forgotten and believes that during this critical moment in Iran’s history, there is someone who knows something about her whereabouts.”
It was not immediately known why the FBI was interested in Witt’s case. The United States and Iran have been at war since February 28.
Wet He served in the Air Force between 1997 and 2008She was trained in the Persian language and was deployed abroad on covert counterintelligence missions, including in the Middle East. She later found work as a contractor for the Department of Defense.
The Texas native defected to Iran in 2013 after being invited to attend two all-expenses-paid conferences in the country, where the Justice Department says he promoted anti-Western propaganda and condemned American moral standards.
Prosecutors said the FBI had previously warned Witt about her activities, but she told agents she would not provide sensitive information about her work if she returned to Iran.
According to the indictment, Witt compromised “sensitive and confidential information and programs related to the U.S. national defense,” the press release said.
“It is alleged that Witt intentionally provided information that endangered US personnel and their families stationed abroad. She also allegedly conducted research on behalf of the Iranian regime to allow them to target her former colleagues in the US government,” the report said.