Overview
- The bureau, which announced the reward Thursday, asked the public for tips to help capture Monica Elfriede Witt.
- Witt served in the Air Force from 1997 to 2008 and later as a Defense Department contractor, work that gave her access to SECRET and TOP SECRET files and the true names of undercover U.S. officers.
- Prosecutors say she defected to Iran in 2013 and later revealed a highly classified collection program and a U.S. intelligence officer’s identity, putting people at risk.
- A federal grand jury indicted her in February 2019 on espionage‑related charges, and the same case named four Iranian nationals for conspiracy, attempted computer intrusion, and aggravated identity theft.
- The FBI says she likely remains in Iran, speaks Farsi, may use aliases, and that her alleged support benefited the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a powerful military and intelligence arm of Iran.