Former U.S. Government Contractor Pleads Guilty to Spying for Ethiopia

WASHINGTON - Abraham Teklu Lemma, 54, a former information technology contractor at the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the National Reconnaissance Office, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit espionage on behalf of the government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

"For more than two years, Lemma exploited a position of trust to provide highly classified U.S. government information to a foreign government," said U.S. Attorney Pirro. "In doing so, he betrayed his oath, his colleagues, and his country, while jeopardizing our national security. His guilty plea sends a clear message: those who compromise America's most sensitive secrets will be investigated, prosecuted, and held accountable."

Senior Judge John D. Bates scheduled sentencing for April 14, 2027.

"Lemma betrayed the United States to an extraordinary degree," said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. "He exploited his IT administrator access to remove classified national defense information, including Top Secret information, from a secure facility and transmitted it to Ethiopian government officials hoping they would use it to target and kill paramilitary fighters in a regional conflict. Clearance holders pledge undivided loyalty to the United States and bear a legal and moral responsibility to protect classified information. Those who betray this trust will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

"Today's guilty plea makes clear that any attempt to betray the United States, violate the trust of the American people, and compromise our national security will not be tolerated," said Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox of the FBI Washington Field Office. "Lemma abused his position of trust and access to some of our nation's most highly classified information, conspiring with foreign government officials to unlawfully disclose materials protected to the highest level. In doing so, he not only endangered our national security but also betrayed the trust placed in him by the American people."

According to court papers, Lemma, of Silver Spring, Maryland, held a Top Secret U.S. security clearance who, from 2021 until his arrest in August 2023, conspired with senior Ethiopian government officials to collect and transmit dozens of highly classified documents, notes, materials, and photographs, classified up to the Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) level, to Ethiopian government officials. Material identified as "Top Secret" means that unauthorized disclosure of the material is reasonably to cause "exceptionally grave damage to the national security" of the United States.

Much of the highly classified information Lemma shared with the Ethiopian government concerned an armed conflict in Ethiopia. Lemma's conspirators included senior officials within political, military, and intelligence branches of the Ethiopian government.

During his espionage activities, Lemma took numerous steps to conceal his conduct. and surreptitiously removed classified documents and information from U.S. government holdings.

Specifically, Lemma wrote notes by hand with classified information and then hand-carried those notes out of secure U.S. government facilities. Additionally, as an IT administrator, Lemma removed electronic versions of classified information from classified U.S. government repositories and then removed the same classified information from secure U.S. government facilities where he worked.

On some occasions, Lemma encouraged his Ethiopian government conspirators to take direct action against paramilitary groups who were fighting the government of Ethiopia. For example, on Dec. 18, 2021, Lemma told one conspirator, "We have to finish these people once and for all, otherwise there will never be peace in Ethiopia." Later that day, Lemma shared additional information with his conspirator and wrote, "Please send Dro[nes]."

According to the plea agreement, Lemma agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to transmit national defense information to a foreign government, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §794. If accepted by the Court, Lemma has agreed to be incarcerated for a period of between 120 and 262 months.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI Washington Field Office.

The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tejpal Chawla and Adam P. Barry for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, and Trial Attorney Kathryn DeMarco of the Department of Justice's National Security Division.

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