The FBI offers $200,000 to capture a fugitive former agent accused of spying for Iran

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is offering $200,000 for information leading to the capture and subsequent prosecution of Monica Witt, accused of espionage and sharing U.S. secrets with Iran. The announcement comes as the White House is negotiating a peace deal with Tehran.

Witt served in the U.S. military from 1997 to 2008. She then worked as a government contractor until 2010. According to the agency run by Kash Patel, that experience gave her access to classified information, including the identities of undercover agents.

In 2019, a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia formally indicted Witt for espionage on behalf of the Iranian regime, sharing information that endangered U.S. personnel stationed overseas. She is also accused of conducting research on behalf of the Iranian regime to enable them to attack her former U.S. government colleagues.

Despite the indictment, Witt remains at large. Authorities claim that she defected to Iran in 2013, after attending conferences promoting "anti-Western and anti-U.S. propaganda." The FBI also noted that Witt's defection has benefited the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization in 2019.

"Monica Witt allegedly betrayed her oath to the Constitution more than a decade ago by defecting to Iran and providing the Iranian regime National Defense Information and likely continues to support their nefarious activities," Daniel Wierzbicki, special agent in charge of the Counterintelligence and Cybersecurity Division of the FBI's Washington, D.C., Field Office, said. 

"The FBI has not forgotten and believes that during this critical moment in Iran's history, there is someone who knows something about her whereabouts. The FBI wants to hear from you so you can help us apprehend Witt and bring her to justice," he added.