Former US government IT contractor admits to spying for Ethiopia

A former Department of Justice employee has pleaded guilty to spying for the Ethiopian government.

53-year-old Abraham Teklu Lemma of Maryland admitted to sending national defense information to the Ethiopian government.

Lemma worked as an IT contractor at the National Reconnaissance Office, the US Department of State, and the US Department of Justice.

The contractor held Top Secret US security clearance, meaning that he was authorized to access sensitive national security information, such as military intelligence analysis and details about surveillance operations, according to court documents,

Access to such detailed and sensitive information made Lemma a valuable target for foreign intelligence services and governments.

Between 2021 and August 2023, Lemma conspired with the Ethiopian government to collect dozens of highly classified documents, notes, materials, and photographs and share them with senior Ethiopian officials, including political, military, and intelligence officials.

Most of the information Lemma collected and transmitted related to an armed conflict in Ethiopia.

On occasion, Lemma encouraged Ethiopian government conspirators to take direct action against paramilitary groups who were fighting the government.

“We have to finish these people once and for all, otherwise there will never be peace in Ethiopia. Please send drones,” he once said.

Lemma pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transmit national defense information to a foreign government and now faces a prison sentence between 10 and nearly 22 years.

“Lemma betrayed the United States to an extraordinary degree. Clearance holders pledge undivided loyalty to the United States and bear a legal and moral responsibility to protect classified information. Those who betray this trust will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said in a statement.

Lemma’s sentencing is set for April 14th, 2027.