Defense Intelligence Agency Employee Arrested for Leaking Classified Information to Journalists

An employee of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) was arrested today on charges related to his alleged disclosure of classified national defense information (NDI) to two journalists in 2018 and 2019.

“As laid out in today’s indictment, Frese was caught red-handed disclosing sensitive national security information for personal gain,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers.  “Frese betrayed the trust placed in him by the American people—a betrayal that risked harming the national security of this country. This is one of six unauthorized disclosure cases the Department has charged in just over two years, and we will continue in our efforts to punish and deter this behavior.”

Henry Kyle Frese, 30, of Alexandria, is a DIA employee and holds a Top Secret//Sensitive Compartmented Information U.S. government security clearance. According to court documents, between mid-April and early May 2018, Frese allegedly accessed classified intelligence reports, some of which were unrelated to his job duties, and provided TOP SECRET information regarding a foreign country’s weapons systems to a journalist (Journalist 1).  According to court documents, Frese and Journalist 1 had the same residential address from August 2017 through August 2018 and, based on reviews of Frese’s and Journalist 1’s public social media pages, it appears that they were involved in a romantic relationship for some or all of that period of time.  The unauthorized disclosure of TOP SECRET information could reasonably be expected to cause exceptionally grave harm to the national security of the United States.

According to the indictment, a week after Frese accessed one of the intelligence reports (Intelligence Report 1) for the second time, Journalist 1 wrote to Frese on April 27, 2018, and asked whether he would be willing to speak with another journalist (Journalist 2). Frese stated that he was “down” to help Journalist 2 if it helped Journalist 1 because he wanted to see Journalist 1 “progress.”

As alleged, in that same communication, Frese and Journalist 1 also discussed a story that Journalist 1 was working on, the subject matter of which was the topic of Intelligence Report 1.  Several days after that communication, Frese searched on a classified United States government computer system for terms related to the topics contained in Intelligence Report 1.  According to the indictment, in the hours after searching for terms related to the topic of Intelligence Report 1, Frese spoke by telephone with both Journalist 1 (twice) and Journalist 2, and within approximately a half hour after Frese’s conversations with the two journalists, Journalist 1 published an article (Article 1) through News Outlet 1, which contained NDI from Intelligence Report 1 classified at the TOP SECRET//SCI level.

In addition, as alleged in the indictment, on Sept. 24, 2019, Frese was captured on court-authorized surveillance of his cell phone orally transmitting classified NDI to Journalist 2. These disclosures contained NDI classified at the SECRET level, meaning that the unauthorized disclosure of the information could reasonably be expected to cause serious harm to the national security of the United States.

“Henry Kyle Frese was entrusted with TOP SECRET information related to the national defense of our country,” said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Frese allegedly violated that trust, the oath he swore to uphold, and is charged with engaging in dastardly and felonious conduct at the expense of our country. This indictment should serve as a clear reminder to all of those similarly entrusted with National Defense Information that unilaterally disclosing such information for personal gain, or that of others, is not selfless or heroic, it is criminal.”

"Mr. Frese allegedly disclosed highly classified national defense information, which puts our country and people at risk," said Alan E. Kohler Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Washington Field Office Counterintelligence Division.  "He violated his oath to serve and protect the United States.  The men and women of the FBI work hard every day to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution - we will not stand by while trusted government employees violate that trust in such an egregious way."

A federal grand jury returned an indictment yesterday charging Frese with two counts of willful transmission of national defense information to persons not entitled to receive it. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each count. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Danya E. Atiyeh and Trial Attorney Jennifer Kennedy Gellie of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.

Attorney Pleads Guilty to Stealing $1.4 Million from Charity Founded to Help Veteran and Military Families

John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Brian C. Turner, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that KEVIN E. CREED, 67, of Litchfield waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today in New Haven federal court to wire fraud related to a scheme in which he stole approximately $1.4 million from a charity he organized.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Creed is an attorney who operates Creed Law Firm in Bristol.  In 2010, Creed established a charity called the Friends of Fisher House Connecticut, which is a chapter of the national Fisher House Foundation, an organization that builds comfort homes on the grounds of military and Veteran Affairs medical centers where military veterans and their families can stay for no cost while undergoing treatment at Veteran Affairs hospitals.  The stated purported purpose of Friends of Fisher House Connecticut was to raise funds to support the building and maintenance of a Fisher House in West Haven.

Creed solicited donations for the Friends of Fisher House from corporations and individuals.  He solicited funds at fairs, carnivals and supermarkets, and also held fundraising events, including the Bristol half-marathon and a 10-kilometer foot race, based on the representation that the money raised would support the construction and operation of the West Haven Fisher House.  While Friends of Fisher House Connecticut made a $1 million donation in 2015 to assist with the financing of the construction of the Fisher House West Haven, Creed used his position to take approximately $1.4 million that had been raised for the organization and use it for both personal and law firm expenses.

Creed is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall on November 20, 2019, at which time he faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.

Creed is released on a $100,000 bond pending sentencing.

This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. McGarry.

U.S. Attorney Durham thanked the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney for its assistance in this matter.

Husband and Wife Charged for Theft of Military Property

RALEIGH – The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Robert J. Higdon, Jr., announces that a Federal grand jury in Greenville has returned a three count indictment charging MORRIS COOPER, age 62 of Fayetteville, with bribery and theft of government property.

According to the indictment, COOPER was a purchasing agent assigned to the Operations and Maintenance Division, Directorate of Public Works (DPW), at Fort Bragg, NC and entrusted to purchase HVAC parts for DPW’s HVAC maintenance section.  He was named in an indictment filed on August 20, 2019, charging him with stealing government money and conspiracy to do so, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371 and 641, and, as a public official, receiving bribes in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 201(b)(2).  His wife, BEVERLEY COOPER, age 52 of Fayetteville, is also charged with conspiring to steal government property and aiding and abetting COOPER to do so.  The indictment charges that COOPER used his position as purchasing agent at DPW, Ft. Bragg, North Carolina, to receive cash and gifts from vendors for both he and his wife, BEVERLEY COOPER, in return for steering contracts for supplies to those vendors.   Additionally, he at times inflated the prices for items under those contracts beyond market price, increasing both the profits to the vendor and the cash payment made to COOPER and/or his wife.  The indictment alleges gross proceeds to COOPER of at least $978,279.00.

“Those who hold government positions with access to the public fisc must act with even greater conviction and accountability than if the monies were their own funds,” said United States Attorney Higdon.    “For the public fisc is exactly that–the monies of each member of the public.”

If convicted, COOPER would face up to a maximum term of 30 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine as to each of the three counts, and a term of up to three years supervised release following any term of imprisonment.  BEVERLEY COOPER would face up to 15 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine as to each of the two counts, and a term of up to three years supervised release following any term of imprisonment.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Investigation of this case is being conducted by the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the U.S. Army Criminal Investigative Division, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.