Former school teacher pleads guilty to helping Navy engineer husband in spy case

Former school teacher Diana Toebbe pleaded guilty Friday to helping her Navy engineer husband sell government secrets to someone they thought was a foreign government representative. 

She pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to communicate restricted data related to nuclear designs, NBC News reported, under a plea deal that will allow her to spend a maximum of 36 months in prison.

A pre-sentence investigation and hearing needs to take place before the judge decides the exact amount of time Toebbe will spend in prison, according to NBC. 

The conviction comes days after her husband Jonathan Toebbe pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to communicate restricted data.

The former Navy engineer sent data related to “U.S. Navy nuclear powered warships and instructions for establishing a covert relationship to purchase additional Restricted Data” to a foreign country in April 2020. 

The U.S. government found out about the data and contacted Jonathan Toebbe, pretending to be the foreign nation. 

The U.S. gave Jonathan Toebbe money in exchange for him leaving the data in “drop-off” locations.

He dropped off data four times, hiding the information cards in a variety of ways including in a peanut butter sandwich and gum package. The wife was accused of being the look-out during the exchanges. 

The two were arrested in October, and Diana Toebbe has been held in jail due to the judge determining she was a flight risk.