FBI offers $200,000 for Air Force specialist accused of spying for Iran
The FBI is offering a $200,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of former Air Force intelligence officer Monica Witt, who was charged with spying for Iran after defecting in 2013.
Witt served as an intelligence specialist and special agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations from 1997 to 2008 and later worked as a government contractor.
According to the FBI, she provided Iran with sensitive and classified U.S. national defense information, allegedly endangering American personnel and their families overseas.
“Monica Witt allegedly 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 likely continues to support their nefarious activities,” said Daniel Wierzbicki, special agent in charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Counterintelligence and Cyber Division. “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.”
The allegations against Witt were first detailed in a 2019 federal indictment, which accused her of conspiring with Iranian intelligence officials after attending a 2012 conference in Tehran hosted by the Iranian New Horizon Organization.
According to prosecutors, Witt communicated with a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen identified in court documents as “Individual A,” who allegedly helped facilitate her move to Iran.
The indictment states Witt ultimately “successfully arranged to re-enter Iran” in August 2013, where Iranian officials allegedly provided her with housing, computer equipment, and support from intelligence operatives.
Federal prosecutors alleged Witt later disclosed classified information to Iranian officials and assisted the regime in targeting former U.S. intelligence personnel.
The indictment claims she conducted research on American intelligence community employees she “had known and worked with” and used the information to help create “target packages” on those individuals.
The FBI said Witt remains wanted and urged anyone with information about her whereabouts to contact investigators.
Comments
No comments yet. Be the first.
Sign in to leave a comment.