Former Defense Contractor Sentenced to Over 10 Years in Prison for Attempted Espionage

According to U.S. Department of Justice, John Murray Rowe Jr., 67, of Lead, South Dakota, was sentenced to 126 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release and a $25,000 fine for attempted espionage. The defendant was charged by indictment in December 2021 and pleaded guilty in April of last year to one count of attempted delivery of national defense information to a foreign government, and three counts of willful communication of national defence information.

In March 2020, Rowe told an undercover FBI agent he was not loyal to the United States and was interested in helping Russia, and during the meeting he disclosed national defense information classified as SECRET concerning operating details of electronic countermeasure systems used by U.S. military fighter jets, among other things. Over the next eight months, he exchanged over 300 emails with a person he believed to be a Russian agent, confirming his willingness to work for the Russian government.

Rowe had worked for nearly 40 years as a test engineer on cleared defence contracts, held various security clearances from SECRET to TOP SECRET//SCI, and was terminated after security concerns and inquiries about Russia and sensitive information. The FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office investigated the case, with prosecutors and agencies including the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency contributing to the effort. Updated September 15 2025.