Abraham Teklu Lemma, a 53-year-old Maryland resident and former information technology contractor for multiple U.S. agencies, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit espionage on behalf of the government of Ethiopia, according to court documents and officials. Abraham Teklu Lemma admitted to conspiracy to transmit national defense information to a foreign government and agreed to a prison term between 120 and 262 months.
Officials said Lemma previously held roles at the National Reconnaissance Office, the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Department of Justice. He possessed a Top Secret U.S. security clearance during the period of the offenses. Prosecutors said he exploited administrative access to remove classified national defense information, including Top Secret materials, from secure facilities and shared it with Ethiopian government officials in the midst of an armed conflict in Ethiopia.
Abraham Teklu Lemma case details
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said Lemma abused his IT access to obtain highly sensitive information and provide it to Ethiopian officials, who were expected to use it in operations targeting paramilitary fighters during a regional conflict. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro for the District of Columbia said that for more than two years he violated his oath and jeopardized national security, and that the plea underscores accountability for those who compromise classified secrets.
According to court filings, from 2021 until his arrest in August 2023, Lemma conspired with senior Ethiopian political, military, and intelligence officials to collect and transmit dozens of highly classified documents, notes, materials, and photographs, up to the Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information level. Material designated Top Secret is defined as information whose unauthorized disclosure could cause exceptionally grave damage to U.S. national security.
Investigators said much of the information he provided related to the armed conflict in Ethiopia. During the conspiracy, he took steps to conceal his activity and illicitly removed classified materials from U.S. government holdings. Officials said he handwrote notes containing classified information and carried them out of secure facilities, and as an IT administrator he extracted electronic versions of classified records from restricted repositories and removed them from secure worksites.
Court documents describe instances in which Lemma encouraged his contacts to take direct action against paramilitary groups opposing the Ethiopian government. On Dec. 18, 2021, he told a conspirator, “We have to finish these people once and for all, otherwise there will never be peace in Ethiopia,” and later the same day urged, “Please send Dro[nes].”
Under the plea agreement, Lemma admitted to conspiracy to transmit national defense information to a foreign government. If the agreement is accepted by the court, he will be incarcerated for a term between 120 and 262 months. Sentencing is scheduled for April 14, 2027.
The FBI Washington Field Office led the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tejpal Chawla and Adam P. Barry for the District of Columbia, and Trial Attorney Kathryn DeMarco of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division.
Another recent case involving alleged classified information disclosures by a government contractor is described in Government contractor arrested in alleged defense leak.