The US Department of Justice announced on Friday (March 7) that it has brought criminal charges against a State Department employee, accusing the employee of sharing sensitive government information with someone they met online. Authorities stated that the words found on an invoice mentioned in the indictment appeared to be in Chinese Renminbi.
According to a criminal indictment released on Friday, the State Department employee in question is named Michael Charles Schena, aged 42. The Department of Justice alleges that he conspired to collect US defense information to be transmitted to unauthorized recipients.
In a statement, the Department of Justice noted that Schena had previously worked at the State Department headquarters in Washington D.C. and had the highest level of security clearance, granting him access to the most classified information.
Schena was the supervisory official responsible for affairs in the Southern Caribbean region, and he has not yet presented a defense.
Schena’s lawyer did not immediately comment, and a spokesperson for the State Department also did not provide immediate comment.
According to the criminal indictment filed in the Eastern District Federal Court of Virginia, Schena received payment from an individual in exchange for sharing US confidential information. Starting from April 2022, Schena met this individual through “various communication platforms.”
The indictment mentioned surveillance footage capturing an incident last month where Schena was seen at his State Department workstation photographing at least five diplomatic documents marked as confidential.
On the same day, Schena was arrested outside his residence in Virginia.
It is currently unclear what these documents are and who Schena shared them with. The indictment included an invoice with the letters “CNY,” indicating Chinese Renminbi according to authorities.
(Reference from Reuters News Agency)