Couple accused of selling secrets to fake foreign government withdraws guilty pleas

PITTSBURGH — In a federal courtroom, Jonathan and Diana Toebbe withdrew their guilty pleas Tuesday after a judge rejected the deals as too lenient.

The judge said it was not in the best interest of the country to accept the guilty pleas.

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The Maryland couple is accused of providing secrets to what they thought was a foreign government in exchange for money. Instead, investigators said Jonathan Toebbe was communicating with an undercover FBI agent.

Federal agents said Jonathan Toebbe dropped off multiple memory cards to the contact as his wife stood watch.

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One of the packages that Jonathan Toebbe is accused of handling contained confidential data and had a return address of Pittsburgh.

In the plea deal, it was agreed that Diana Toebbe would serve no more than three years and her husband would serve up to 17.5 years.

A trial has been set for January 2023.

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