Who Is Monica Witt? Iranian Spy Charge Against Ex-Air Force Counterintelligence Agent

Monica Witt, a former U.S. air force intelligence officer, was charged with spying for Iran's Revolutionary Guard forces. Witt, who defected to Iran in 2013, revealed classified information about U.S. spy programs and targeted her former colleagues.

The 39-year-old was a cryptologist and a counterintelligence investigator for the U.S. air force for more than 10 years before working as an intelligence analyst for defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton for five months in 2008.

A 27-page indictment, unsealed Wednesday,​ revealed Wednesday how she assembled dossiers on eight U.S. military intelligence agents she had worked with for Iranian hackers. These hackers used Facebook and emails to try to install spyware on their computers to get classified information. Iranian nationals Mojtaba Masoumpour, Behzad Mesri, Hossein Parvar and Mohamad Paryar were charged with computer intrusion and aggravated identity theft.

“It is a sad day for America when one of its citizens betrays our country,” the assistant attorney general for national security, John Demers, said. “Ms Witt was recruited by Iran as part of a program that targets former intelligence officers and others who have held security clearances. Following her defection to Iran in 2013, she is alleged to have revealed to the Iranian government the existence of a highly classified intelligence collection program and the true identity of a U.S. intelligence officer, thereby risking the life of this individual.”

Witt's is also accused of revealing the code name and mission of a classified U.S. government program.

"She decided to turn against the United States and shift her loyalty to Iran," Jay Tabb, the FBI's executive assistant director for national security, said. "Her primary motivation appears to be ideological."

"This case underscores the dangers to our intelligence professionals and the lengths our adversaries will go to identify them, expose them, target them, and, in a few rare cases, ultimately turn them against the nation they swore to protect. When our intelligence professionals are targeted or betrayed, the National Security Division will relentlessly pursue justice against the wrong-doers," he added.

According to the indictment, Witt defected for ideological motives. She was reportedly recruited when she visited Iran in February 2012 to attend a conference on U.S. cultural influence called “Hollywoodism,” organized by a group called New Horizon. The group was put under U.S. sanctions on Wednesday for allegedly serving as a front from the Quds Force — the external arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC-QF).

“New Horizon Organization hosts international conferences that serve as a platform for the IRGC-QF to recruit and collect intelligence from attendees,” a U.S. treasury statement said.

An FBI missing person poster from the time Witt defected shows two pictures of her wearing a headscarf and says she was last known to be traveling and working in southwest Asia.

“She was last believed to be in either Afghanistan or Tajikistan in July 2013, where she was working as an English teacher. Witt may have also traveled to the United Arab Emirates or Iran, where she had previously traveled on at least two other occasions," the FBI alert read. “The last known contact with her is believed to have been in June 2013. She had been working overseas for more than a year. Witt’s friends recently reported her missing after not receiving any response from her in several months.”