Department of Defense Civilian Employee Pleads Guilty to Taking Classified Documents

A civilian electrical engineer for the Department of Defense pleaded guilty in federal court today to unauthorized removal and retention of classified material.

According to court documents, Gokhan Gun, 51, of Falls Church, Virginia, was born in Istanbul, Turkey, and is a dual citizen of Turkey and the United States. Through his employment, Gun possessed a Top Secret security clearance with access to Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) and received training on the proper handling and storage of classified information.

Beginning in May 2024, Gun, without permission, removed at least five classified documents from his Department of Defense workspace with the intent to retain them at his primary residence, which was not an approved facility for the storage of classified information.

On Aug. 9, 2024, Gun was scheduled to depart the United States on a morning flight to Mexico. However, FBI agents observed a ride share service arrive at the defendant’s residence and approached Gun. Agents observed inside Gun’s residence a backpack inside which they located a Top Secret document and a notebook with handwritten notes that mirrored a Top Secret report. In the dining room, agents located additional classified documents, one of which Gun printed on Aug. 7, 2024, just two days before his scheduled departure.

Gun is scheduled to be sentenced on June 17 and faces up to five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Sue Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert for the Eastern District of Virginia; Acting Assistant Director in Charge Phillip E. Bates of the FBI Washington Field Office and Executive Director Lee M. Russ of Air Force Office of Special Investigations Office of Special Projects (AFOSI) made the announcement.

The FBI and AFOSI Office of Special Projects are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Gibbs for the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorneys Adam L. Small and Chantelle Dial of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.