The FBI arrested a Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) employee on Thursday for trying to share national defense information with a foreign government.
The Justice Department issued a press release with the details of the alleged crime.
Nathan Vilas Laatsch, 28, of Alexandria, Virginia, was arrested today in northern Virginia, and will make his initial court appearance in the Eastern District of Virginia tomorrow.
According to court documents, Laatsch became a civilian employee of the DIA in 2019, where he works with the Insider Threat Division and holds a Top Secret security clearance. In March 2025, the FBI commenced an operation after receiving a tip that an individual — now known to be Laatsch — offered to provide classified information to a friendly foreign government. In that email, the sender wrote that he did not “agree or align with the values of this administration” and was therefore “willing to share classified information” that he had access to, including “completed intelligence products, some unprocessed intelligence, and other assorted classified documentation.”
After multiple communications with an FBI agent — who Laatsch allegedly believed to be an official of the foreign government — Laatsch began transcribing classified information to a notepad at his desk and, over the course of approximately three days, repeatedly exfiltrated the information from his workspace. Laatsch subsequently confirmed to the FBI agent that he was prepared to transmit the information.
REPORT: An IT Specialist With The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Was Arrested Today For Attempting To Transmit Classified National Defense Information To An Officer Or Agent Of A "Friendly" Foreign Government.
— John Basham (@JohnBasham) May 30, 2025
Nathan Vilas Laatsch, 28, Of Alexandria, Virginia, Was Arrested… pic.twitter.com/LvVvrBDgPQ
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The agent posing as a foreign government official offered to meet Laatsch in a public park in Northern Virginia. The former DIA employee was supposed to hand off the classified information to the agent. The Bureau surveilled the suspect as he deposited the items in the assigned area.
Agents found the item, which was a thumb drive containing “a message from Laatsch and multiple typed documents, each containing information that was portion-marked up to the Secret or Top Secret levels.”
After receiving confirmation that the thumb drive had been received, on May 7, Laatsch allegedly sent a message to the FBI agent, which indicated Laatsch was seeking something from the foreign government in return for continuing to provide classified information. The next day, Laatsch specified that he was interested in “citizenship for your country” because he did not “expect[] things here to improve in the long term.” Although he said he was “not opposed to other compensation,” he was not in a position where he needed to seek “material compensation.”
Days later, the agent informed Laatsch that hee was ready to receive more classified information. The former employee provided the information after smuggling it out of the building in his clothing. He was arrested during the exchange.
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