NORFOLK, Va. – A 35-year-old Virginia man has pleaded guilty to attempted espionage for providing schematics of an aircraft carrier under construction to someone he believed was an Egyptian intelligence officer.
Mostafa Awwad of Yorktown entered the plea in federal court in Norfolk on Monday.
Court records say Awwad tried to steal technical data in the designs of the USS Gerald R. Ford in October. The Ford is the first of the United States' next generation of aircraft carrier. Awwad provided computer drawings downloaded from the Navy to an undercover FBI agent.
Awwad worked as a civilian engineer at a Navy shipyard. He could face a maximum penalty of life in prison, but his plea agreement recommends a sentence of no more than 11 years. His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 21.
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