A former IT contractor for the US government has pleaded guilty to conspiring to spy for Ethiopia. He admitted to passing classified national defense information to Ethiopian officials who, according to prosecutors, used the material to carry out combat operations against militia formations during an armed conflict.
Abraham Teklu Lemma, 53, of Maryland, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to conspiracy to transmit national defense information to a foreign government, the US Department of Justice announced. Under the plea agreement, which still requires court approval, he faces a prison term of 120 to 262 months. Sentencing is set for April 14, 2027.
Lemma previously worked as an IT specialist at the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the US State Department, and the US Department of Justice. According to court documents, Lemma, who held top-secret clearance, conspired with senior Ethiopian officials representing political, military, and intelligence structures from 2021 until his arrest in August 2023.
Over that period, he gathered and handed over dozens of documents, memos, materials, and photographs marked Top Secret or falling under the Sensitive Compartmented Information category.
A significant share of the intelligence he passed on concerned the armed conflict in Ethiopia and, as noted, was used to conduct military operations against anti-government groups.
Seeking to cover his tracks, Lemma wrote out notes by hand containing classified information and carried them out of secured US government facilities.
Using his authority as an IT administrator, he also deleted electronic copies of classified files from government repositories.