Nathan Vilas Laatsch, 29, a former civilian employee of the Defense Intelligence Agency, which is part of the Pentagon, pleaded guilty to sharing national defense information with a foreign government, the U.S. Justice Department said on Thursday.
Laatsch, of Alexandria, Va., worked in the agency’s insider threat division and held a top secret security clearance with access to special access programs, according to court documents.
He wrote to an email account that he thought was associated with a friendly foreign government in March 2025 and offered to share the classified information. But he actually heard back from an FBI agent.
In late April, Laatsch manually copied classified information from his agency workstation onto notebook paper, which he removed from the workplace. At times, he hid notes in his socks and lunchbox, court documents say.
On May 1, he deposited a thumb drive in Arlington, Va., park. The drive contained nine documents, eight of which included information marked “top secret” and “sensitive compartmented information.”
Laatsch kept copying classified information after the FBI agent directed him to certain areas of focus. On May 29, he went to an Arlington park with a laptop and electronically transferred another set of classified files, before agents arrested him. The files had more than 20 documents marked up to “secret” or “top secret” levels, court documents state.
After he was arrested, Laatsch admitted to FBI agents that he intentionally contacted and believed that he was communicating with the foreign government. According to court documents, he also said that he wanted to become a citizen of the country, which isn’t named in the court documents, after making the transfer. (News reports identify the country as Germany.)
“U.S. government employees entrusted with our nation’s secrets must always protect our nation’s security, not cavalierly toss aside this responsibility out of disagreement, selfishness or greed,” stated Todd Blanche, U.S. attorney general.
“Laatsch faces serious consequences for violating his position of trust,” Blanche stated. “This case shows that if you unlawfully disclose national defense information, we will find you and hold you accountable to the fullest extent the law allows.”
He was liable for up to life in prison. Laatsch agreed to recommend at least 11 years in jail, and prosecutors agreed to recommend no more than 18 years. A court will decide his sentence, which is scheduled for Jan. 27, 2027.
