The FBI on Thursday announced it would offer a $200,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of a former U.S. service member from Texas, who was charged with defecting to Iran more than a decade ago.
Monica Witt, an El Paso native who would be 47 today, served as a U.S. Air Force intelligence specialist and special agent from 1997 to 2008. After her military service ended, she started working as a contractor for the U.S. government until 2010.
Both of her roles exposed her to information classified as “secret” and “top secret,” including the true names of American intelligence officers working undercover abroad.
Witt defected to Iran in 2013 and provided information to the Iranian government that endangered U.S. personnel and their families stationed abroad. She also allegedly conducted research on behalf of the Iranian government, allowing Iranian officials to target her former colleagues. Her defection has benefitted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has elements responsible for intelligence collection, unconventional warfare and providing direct support to multiple terrorist organizations targeting U.S. citizens and interests.
She was indicted on espionage charges in 2019 by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia, but she remains at large.
Witt is known to speak Farsi and resides in Iran, where she holds a visa. She stands 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighed about 120 pounds when she defected.
“Monica 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,” said Daniel Wierzbicki, special agent in charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Counterintelligence and Cyber Division.
“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. “The FBI wants to hear from you so you can help us apprehend Witt and bring her to justice.”
Anyone with information about Witt is urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI. People also can contact a local FBI office, the nearest American Embassy or Consulate, or submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov.