Former Defense Contractor Sentenced to Over 10 Years in Prison for Attempted Espionage

PHILADELPHIA - United States Attorney David Metcalf, the Justice Department, and the FBI announced that John Murray Rowe Jr., 67, of Lead, South Dakota, was sentenced today to 126 months in prison, three years' supervised release, and a $25,000 fine by United States District Judge John M. Gallagher for attempted espionage.

The defendant was charged by indictment in December 2021 and pleaded guilty in April of last year to one count of attempted delivery of national defense information to a foreign government, and three counts of willful communication of national defense information.

According to court documents, Rowe was employed for nearly 40 years as a test engineer for multiple cleared defense contractors. In connection with his employment, Rowe held various national security clearances from SECRET to TOP SECRET//SCI (Sensitive Compartmented Information) and worked on matters relating to U.S. Air Force electronic warfare technology, among other things. After several security violations and concerning inquiries and statements about Russia and sensitive information, Rowe was identified as a potential insider threat and terminated from employment.

In March 2020, Rowe told an undercover FBI agent, who he believed to be an agent of the Russian government, that he was not loyal to the United States and that he was interested in helping Russia. During this meeting, Rowe disclosed national defense information classified as SECRET that concerned specific operating details of the electronic countermeasure systems used by U.S. military fighter jets, among other things.

Over the course of the next eight months, Rowe exchanged over 300 emails with a person he believed to be a Russian agent, confirming his willingness to work for the Russian government and discussing his knowledge of classified information relating to U.S. national security. In one email, Rowe explained, "If I can't get a job [in the United States] then I'll go work for the other team."

In another email, Rowe disclosed classified national defense information concerning the U.S. Air Force. In September 2020, Rowe had a second in-person meeting with the undercover FBI agent. During this meeting, Rowe again disclosed classified national defense information.

Rowe was arrested on a criminal complaint and warrant on December 15, 2021, and was ordered detained pending trial. During his pretrial detention, Rowe again disclosed the same classified national defense information concerning the U.S. Air Force to relatives and an associate during recorded prison calls.

"Despite his knowledge, training, experience, and decades of work as a military contractor, Rowe chose to betray the trust placed in him by his country," said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. "His repeated, willful efforts to harm the U.S. by divulging sensitive defense information to an adversary are inexcusable. My office and our partners will continue to hold fully accountable anyone seeking to compromise the national security of the United States."

"The defendant spent decades working on sensitive U.S. defense programs and was entrusted with safeguarding protected and classified information about military technology. Instead of honoring that trust and his legal responsibilities as a clearance holder, he chose to violate both - repeatedly and willfully attempting to disclose classified information to someone he believed was a foreign agent," said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. "The Justice Department will hold accountable those who disregard country and conscience at the expense of our Nation's security, including, as here, out of spite."

The case was investigated by the FBI's Philadelphia Field Office and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Wolfe and former DOJ Trial Attorney Scott Claffee, with assistance from Trial Attorney Chantelle Dial, of the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Section.

Additional assistance was provided by the Lead (S.D.) Police Department, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of South Dakota, the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, and the FBI's Minneapolis Field Office and Rapid City (S.D.) Resident Agency.