FBI Offers $200,000 Reward for Information on Defector Monica Witt

The FBI is offering a $200,000 reward for information leading to the capture and prosecution of Monica Elfriede Witt, 47, a former U.S. Air Force counterintelligence specialist who defected to Iran in 2013 and was later charged with revealing classified information to the Tehran government.

Witt was indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2019 on charges of espionage, including transmitting national defense information to the government of Iran. She remains at large.

Daniel Wierzbicki, special agent in charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Counterintelligence and Cyber Division, stated in a news release Wednesday that 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.”

“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,” Wierzbicki added.

It was not immediately clear why the FBI was drawing attention to Witt's case at this time. The United States and Iran have been at odds since Feb. 28.

Witt served in the Air Force between 1997 and 2008. During her service, she was trained in the Farsi language and deployed overseas on classified counterintelligence missions, including to the Middle East. Following her military service, she worked as a Defense Department contractor.

The Texas native defected to Iran in 2013. Her defection occurred after she was invited to two all-expense-paid conferences in Iran, which the Justice Department claims promoted anti-Western propaganda and condemned American moral standards.

Prosecutors stated that before her defection, Witt had been warned by the FBI about her activities. However, she reportedly told agents that she would not provide sensitive information about her work if she returned to Iran.

According to the indictment, Witt placed "sensitive and classified U.S. national defense information and programs” at risk, the news release said.

It further stated, “Witt allegedly intentionally provided information endangering U.S personnel and their families stationed abroad. She also allegedly conducted research on behalf of the Iranian regime to allow them to target her former colleagues in the U.S. government.”