Summary4 min read

Podcast Summary: True Story Podcast with Ray William Johnson

Episode Title: He Committed Treason to Get Rich // The Jonathan Toebbe Story
Release Date: July 21, 2026
Host: Ray William Johnson

Episode Overview

In this episode, Ray William Johnson dives into the bizarre true story of Jonathan Toebbe—a seemingly ordinary Navy nuclear engineer who attempted to sell America’s most covert naval secrets for millions, driven by dissatisfaction with U.S. politics. Through Ray’s classic comedic yet insightful narration, listeners are guided through Toebbe’s descent into espionage, the critical role his wife Diana played, and the FBI’s brilliant counterintelligence sting.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Motive: Political Disillusionment and Greed

Jonathan's Daunting Discontent
- Jonathan Toebbe, living in Annapolis and working as a Navy nuclear engineer, becomes deeply disheartened after Donald Trump’s 2016 election.
- He convinces himself that “the country is heading in the wrong direction” and seeks an escape plan.
- Quote:
  - “He just loses faith in America and its political system, and he’s convinced the country is heading in the wrong direction.” (00:28)

2. The Plan is Hatched

Turning to Treason for Escape
- By 2018, Jonathan creates a plan “to steal state secrets and sell them to a foreign country” to fund his exit and retirement abroad.
- He hopes for $5 million to “never have to work again.” (01:15)
Inside Access
- As a Navy engineer, he has privileged access to nuclear submarine technology—a goldmine for the right buyer.
- He recruits his wife, Diana, who’s “in, or whatever.” (02:15)

3. Choosing a 'Friendly' Buyer

The Dilemma of Who to Sell To
- Both Jonathan and Diana avoid selling secrets to obvious U.S. adversaries like China or Russia, fearing “they don’t want anyone to get killed or anything.”
- They land on Brazil, whose naval ambitions make them a natural candidate for stolen sub technology. (03:02)

4. Espionage in Action

Building the Trove
- Over two years, Jonathan “begins secretly gathering tons of classified information ... little by little.”
Reaching Out to Brazil
- In 2020, Jonathan mails an anonymous package to Brazil’s ABIN (intelligence agency), sampling classified data and encrypted contact instructions.
The Waiting Game
- He receives an apparent response after eight months inviting a spy-game style verification: a physical sign in the embassy window. (05:38)
- When he sees the sign, “that is all the proof he needs.” (06:19)

5. Dead Drops and Crypto Payments

First Drop: Peanut Butter Sandwich
- Jonathan “hides the card inside a peanut butter sandwich in a Ziploc bag” and executes a dead drop at a park, then receives $10,000 in cryptocurrency. (07:33)
Second Drop: Chewing Gum Wrapper
- The second drop involves an SD card inside chewing gum. Another park, another crypto wire—this time $20,000, then a $70,000 drop. (08:12)
- Quote:
  - “Now they’ve gotten about $100,000 within just a few months … inching their way toward that $5 million goal.” (09:10)

6. The Twist: FBI Sting Operation

The Truth About ABIN’s Reply
- Ray rewinds the story: the real ABIN receives Jonathan’s outreach and immediately informs the FBI, refusing to participate.
- “Every message that he received was actually from the FBI. Every dead drop he made, he was making it to the FBI.” (10:22)
Setting the Trap
- With all the evidence, the FBI arranges one final sting.
  - Final drop: SD card in a Band-Aid wrapper, out-of-state wooded area. (11:00)

7. The Arrest and Sentencing

Boom, You’re Busted
- As soon as Jonathan completes the last dead drop, “the feds move in, and bam. They arrest him. Here’s his mugshot. Also, bam. They arrest Diana.” (11:26–11:36)
Aftermath
- Both take plea deals:
  - Jonathan: 19 years in prison
  - Diana: 21 years in prison

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On his motivation:
- “He just wants to make some money and, you know, be able to leave the country.” (01:45)
On their odd moral logic:
- “Selling state secrets to America’s rivals would be morally wrong … They don’t want anyone to get killed or anything.” (03:15)
On their espionage style:
- “He hides the card inside a peanut butter sandwich in a Ziploc bag.” (07:30)
On the sting:
- “Every message that he received was actually from the FBI. Every dead drop he made, he was actually making it to the FBI.” (10:25)
On the capture:
- “And the second he makes the drop, the feds move in, and bam. They arrest him. Here’s his mug shot.” (11:27)

Important Timestamps

00:00–01:20 – Setting up Jonathan’s motive and political disillusionment
03:00 – Planning espionage with wife, deciding on Brazil as the target
05:50 – Sending the first package to Brazil’s intelligence agency
07:30 – First dead drop (peanut butter sandwich)
08:12 – Second and third dead drops (chewing gum, accumulating payments)
10:10 – The FBI takes over, duping Jonathan
11:00 – The final sting and arrest
11:28–12:00 – Sentencing and aftermath

Tone and Language

Ray William Johnson keeps the storytelling lively and slightly irreverent, injecting comedic observations (“sweet, I’m in, or whatever” & “he hides the SD card inside a peanut butter sandwich”) that highlight the absurdity of the Toebbes’ decisions, making this a true crime case with a touch of dark humor.

Conclusion

This episode offers a fascinating, almost surreal look at one couple’s misguided pursuit of wealth and escape from political dissatisfaction through espionage—and the swift, clever response by federal authorities. Ray’s engaging storytelling and wry humor pack both a cautionary lesson and plenty of laughs for listeners who love true crime with a twist.

Loading summary

Transcript1 lines

[00:00]
A
So how much does this guy hate the president? Well, enough to be put in prison over it. So the guy's name is Jonathan, And Jonathan's about 38 when this story starts, and he's living in Annapolis, Maryland. And Jonathan, he's just like a normal guy. He's living his life and all that. But then in 2016, the worst thing happens to him. Donald Trump gets elected president. And this really pisses Jonathan off. I mean, he thinks Trump's a turd who will probably someday end up getting us into a war that we can't get out of. I don't know, something like that. And he just loses faith in America and its political system, and he's convinced that the country is heading in the wrong direction. So one day in 2018, he comes up with a terrible idea. He's gonna steal state secrets and sell them to a foreign country. That way, he can ultimately get some money and then afford to flee this country that he's learned to hate so much and go live somewhere else and never have to work again. All he needs to do this is sell enough state secrets to make about $5 million. So how's he gonna get this top secret information that he plans to sell? Well, Jonathan just happens to work as a Navy nuclear engineer, and his job involves helping design and maintain nuclear reactors used in nuclear submarines, which means that he has special security clearance. So he goes to his wife and he tells her his plan to sell state secrets. And his wife is this woman, Diana. And instead of talking him out of it, I guess Diana's like, sweet, I'm in, or whatever. So together, they start discussing who could potentially buy this information from them, like which foreign governments would be interested. Now, the immediate choices would be countries like China or Russia. But both Jonathan and Diana feel that selling state secrets to America's rivals would be morally wrong. I mean, they don't want anyone to get killed or anything. They just want to make some money and, you know, be able to leave the country. So they decide to look for a friendlier government to sell to. And after conducting lots of research, they eventually conclude that the best country to sell to would be Brazil. Because the information Jonathan has access to is about nuclear submarine technology. And Brazil has spent years trying to develop its own nuclear submarine program. So it's a perfect match. So around 2018, Jonathan gets to work on carrying out this plan. He begins secretly gathering tons of pages of classified information. But he has to do this little by little, downloading a few pages here, a few pages there, so that he doesn't trigger any internal network alarms by downloading, like, a huge file. So about two years pass, and it's now 2020, and he's got thousands of pages worth of top secret info at this point. So now all he's gotta do is get it to the Brazilian government. Problem is, he's not that connected of a guy. Like, he doesn't have a personal contact or a secret inside connection with anyone running Brazil. So he types up an anonymous letter and he packages it with a physical sample of classified U.S. navy operational manuals. And then he goes and he drops the package off the mail and he mails it to the Brazilian government spy agency, the abin, which is kind of like the Brazilian CIA. So the ABIN gets this package and they're like, oh, sh t. This U.S. navy guy is trying to sell us state secrets. Meanwhile, back in the U.S. jonathan waits for a reply. And he waits and he waits, and about eight months pass and. And he still hasn't gotten a response. But then one day, he finally gets an email from the Abin because in his letter, he had instructed them on how to contact him via an encrypted email. And so this email is like, I'm from the Abin, and we are very interested in what you have to offer. And Jonathan replies back, cool. Got any proof? And he tells them that over Memorial Day weekend, they need to place a specific physical sign in the window of the Brazilian Embassy in. In Washington D.C. and the ABIN agrees to do this. So over Memorial Day weekend, Jonathan drives through D.C. and he passes by the embassy, and there he sees it. The exact sign that he requested. And that is all the proof he needs. So now their deal is moving forward. And as a gesture of good faith, to show him they're serious, the abin sends him $10,000 in cryptocurrency. So now he's fully committed. I mean, this is gonna be great. He and his wife, they're gonna be so rich. And they're gonna be able to finally move away and not have to deal with Trump and the politics of this country. So he sends a message to the ABIN agents and he tells them that he wants to pass some information over to them. And so they arrange a dead drop where he'll quietly drop it off somewhere and then an ABIN agent will come and pick it up. Then the day comes and. And Jonathan has all the top secret information on an SD card. And he hides this card inside a peanut butter sandwich inside a Ziploc bag. Then he and Diana drive to the park dressed in hiking gear to blend in. And Jonathan, he walks along the hiking trail and he drops the sandwich at the agreed upon location. And later, an Abin agent comes to get it. And once it's all done, Jonathan receives another crypto payment, and this time, $20,000. And about two months after that, they arrange another dead drop with more classified information this time. So this time, Jonathan hides the SD card inside a package of chewing gum. Then he and Diana drive to a different park dressed in hiking gear, again, you know, to blend in. And Jonathan walks along the hiking trail and he drops the pack of gum at the agreed upon location. Afterwards, he receives another crypto payment, a of $70,000. And Jonathan and Diana, they are thrilled at this point. I mean, now they've gotten about $100,000 within just a few months. So they are inching their way toward that $5 million goal. And so it's starting to look like Jonathan and Diana, they might get away with actual espionage until. Here's the thing. To understand what's really going on, we need to rewind this story a bit. So he types up an anony, and he packages it with a physical sample of classified U.S. navy operational manuals. Then he goes and he drops the package off the mail. So the Abin gets this package, and they're like, oh, sh T. This US Navy guy is trying to sell US State secrets. But the Abin doesn't actually email Jonathan. I mean, they want no part of what he's trying to do. Instead, they reach out to the FBI, and they're like, one of your Navy guys is trying to sell us their state secrets. And from that moment on, the feds take over the case, and they reach out to Jonathan via his encrypted email, and they pretend to be Abi, which means every message that he received was actually from the FBI. Every dead drop he made, he was actually making it to the FBI. And so eventually, the Feds decide that they have a lot of evidence against him and it's time to arrange one final drop so that they can swoop in and bust him. So they arrange the drop with Jonathan. This time, he hides an SD card inside of a band aid wrapper. And he and Diane, they go out to a wooded area out of state to drop it off. And. And, you know, they're dressed like hikers again. And Jonathan, he goes out into the woods, and the second he makes the drop, the feds move in, and bam. They arrest him. Here's his mug shot also. Bam. They arrest Diana. Here's her mugshot. And ultimately, Jonathan takes a plea deal and he gets sentenced to 19 years in prison, while Diana also takes a plea deal and she gets sentenced to 21 years in prison.