A US Department of Defense contractor born in Turkey but who became an American citizen in 2021 has been detained in Virginia for illegally obtaining and retaining national defense secrets, according to a report by The New York Times.
The contractor, Gökhan Gün, an electrical engineer who now lives in a Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C., was detained with dozens of highly classified documents he had obtained using his security clearance, as he prepared to depart for a trip to Mexico.
The New York Times reported last week, citing an 11-page complaint unsealed in a Virginia federal court, that Gün had printed thousands of documents at his Air Force job, many of which were “unclassified,” along with some “batches of documents from the top secret network.”
According to the report, Gün is charged with “illegally obtaining and retaining national defense secrets.”
A law enforcement official briefed on the case reportedly said Gün, who printed 256 documents, totaling around 3,400 pages, since starting his job for the Air Force in mid-2023, nonchalantly carried them out of his office in rolled-up wads in plastic shopping bags.
He was detained on August 9 by FBI agents who arrived to execute a search warrant at his house in Falls Church, Virginia, as he was preparing to leave for what he described as a fishing trip with friends, intending to board a flight to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Agents reportedly found a black backpack that contained a document marked top secret and a listing of his security clearances among his luggage.
Gün, who had permission to take some work materials home, downplayed the significance of his actions, telling agents that “the classifications might have expired” on many of the documents in his possession, according to The New York Times.
Gün, who was born in Turkey and entered the US on an H-1B nonimmigrant work visa in 2001 for a telecommunications company, became a lawful permanent resident in the US in 2012 and a naturalized citizen in July 2021 while retaining citizenship in Turkey.
His biography on a trade association website lists a bachelor’s degree in engineering from George Mason University, a master’s in engineering from The George Washington University and a doctorate in computer science from Southern Methodist University.
Turkish media reported that Gün is to remain in custody until he appears before a judge on August 13. If found guilty, he is expected to receive a prison sentence of up to five years and a fine of $250,000.