PHILADELPHIA, PA — A South Dakota man who spent decades working as a defense contractor was sentenced Monday to more than 10 years in prison for attempting to provide classified U.S. military information to what he believed was a Russian agent, federal prosecutors said.
John Murray Rowe Jr., 67, of Lead, South Dakota, received a 126-month prison sentence, three years of supervised release, and a $25,000 fine after pleading guilty last year to attempted delivery of national defense information and three counts of willful communication of national defense information. U.S. District Judge John M. Gallagher handed down the sentence in Philadelphia.
Rowe, who worked nearly 40 years as a test engineer on sensitive U.S. Air Force electronic warfare programs, held clearances ranging from Secret to Top Secret with access to compartmented information. Prosecutors said he became a security risk after multiple violations and troubling statements about Russia.
In 2020, Rowe met with an undercover FBI agent posing as a Russian operative. During their conversations and in more than 300 email exchanges over the following months, he repeatedly offered to share classified details about U.S. defense systems. At one point, he wrote: “If I can’t get a job [in the United States] then I’ll go work for the other team.”
Rowe disclosed classified details about electronic countermeasures on U.S. fighter jets, according to court documents. Even after his arrest in December 2021, prosecutors said, he repeated the same information in recorded prison calls to relatives and an associate.
“Despite his knowledge, training, experience, and decades of work as a military contractor, Rowe chose to betray the trust placed in him by his country,” U.S. Attorney David Metcalf said. “His repeated, willful efforts to harm the U.S. by divulging sensitive defense information to an adversary are inexcusable.”
Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said Rowe’s actions were driven by spite. “Instead of honoring that trust and his legal responsibilities as a clearance holder, he chose to violate both – repeatedly and willfully attempting to disclose classified information to someone he believed was a foreign agent.”
FBI officials said the sentence underscores the seriousness of insider threats. “Mr. Rowe’s actions were not only dangerous but also reckless, as he sought to provide sensitive defense information to a foreign adversary,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office. “This sentencing serves as a powerful reminder of the FBI’s mission to protect the American people.”
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Wolfe and former Justice Department trial attorney Scott Claffee, with support from the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Section. The FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office led the investigation, with assistance from multiple agencies including the U.S. Air Force, Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, and local authorities in South Dakota.
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