Former DIA Employee Sentenced to Two Years for Offering Classified Information to Foreign Government
Nathan Vilas Laatsch, 29, of Alexandria, Virginia, was sentenced to two years in prison and 36 months of supervised release for transmitting national defense information.
4 reports on this incident · first at Aug 27, 2026, 3:52 p.m. ET
Earlier reports
Aug 29, 2026, 11:06 a.m. ET
Former DIA employee pleads guilty to transmitting national defense information
Nathan Vilas Laatsch, 29, of Alexandria, Virginia, a former IT specialist for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), pleaded guilty on August 27, 2026, to transmission of national defense information, the Justice Department announced. The plea was entered in the Eastern District of Virginia, according to the department.
According to court documents cited by the Justice Department, Laatsch, who worked in the DIA's Insider Threat Division and held a Top Secret clearance, offered classified information to a foreign government in March 2025. He then communicated with an FBI agent posing as a foreign government affiliate, transcribed classified information, and left it on a thumb drive at a public park in northern Virginia. He was arrested in May 2025 after transmitting additional documents.
Laatsch faces up to life in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 27, 2027. The FBI Washington Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from the FBI's Global Counterespionage Unit and the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations.
Aug 29, 2026, 11:00 a.m. ET
Former DIA employee pleads guilty to transmitting national defense information
Nathan Vilas Laatsch, 29, of Alexandria, Virginia, a former IT specialist for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), pleaded guilty to transmission of national defense information, the Justice Department announced on August 27, 2026. The plea was entered in the Eastern District of Virginia, according to a Justice Department press release.
According to court documents, Laatsch, who worked in the DIA's Insider Threat Division and held a Top Secret security clearance, offered to provide classified information to a foreign government in March 2025. He later communicated with an individual he believed was affiliated with that government but was actually an FBI agent. In late April 2025, Laatsch transcribed classified information and deposited it on a thumb drive at a public park in northern Virginia. The FBI retrieved the drive, which contained documents classified up to the Secret or Top Secret level, along with a message from Laatsch indicating he had included "a decent sample size" of classified information. He later expressed interest in "citizenship" to the foreign country. Between May 15 and May 27, 2025, Laatsch again transcribed and removed classified information, and on May 29, 2025, he transmitted additional documents at a prearranged location in northern Virginia, where he was arrested.
Laatsch faces up to life in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 27, 2027. The FBI Washington Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from the FBI's Global Counterespionage Unit and the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Mark Murphy of the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Kromberg for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Aug 27, 2026, 3:52 p.m. ETFirst report
Former DIA employee pleads guilty to transmitting national defense information
Nathan Vilas Laatsch, 29, of Alexandria, Virginia, a former IT specialist for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), pleaded guilty on August 27, 2026, to transmission of national defense information, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
According to court documents, Laatsch became a civilian DIA employee in 2019, working with the Insider Threat Division and holding a Top Secret security clearance. In March 2025, the FBI learned that Laatsch had offered to provide classified information to a friendly foreign government. He then began communicating with an individual he believed was affiliated with that government but was actually an FBI agent. In late April 2025, Laatsch transcribed classified information onto a notepad and, over three days, repeatedly took it from his workspace. He deposited the information on a thumb drive at a public park in northern Virginia for the foreign government to retrieve. The FBI retrieved the drive, which contained multiple typed documents with information up to the Secret or Top Secret level, along with a message from Laatsch indicating he had included "a decent sample size" of classified information. After receiving confirmation the drive was received, Laatsch expressed interest in "citizenship" in the foreign country, stating he was "not opposed to other compensation" but did not need "material compensation."
In mid-May 2025, the FBI agent told Laatsch he was prepared to receive additional classified information. Between May 15 and May 27, 2025, Laatsch again transcribed multiple pages of notes from his classified workstation and took them away hidden in his clothing. On May 29, 2025, he arrived at a prearranged location in northern Virginia and transmitted multiple classified documents, after which he was arrested.
Laatsch faces up to life in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for January 27, 2027. The FBI Washington Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from the FBI's Global Counterespionage Unit and the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Mark Murphy of the National Security Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Kromberg for the Eastern District of Virginia.
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