FBI Offers $200K Reward for Former Air Force Agent Who Defected to Iran

The FBI is offering a $200,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension and prosecution of Monica Witt, a former U.S. service member and counterintelligence agent.

Witt was indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia in February 2019 on charges of espionage, including transmitting national defense information to the government of Iran.

Witt, a former active-duty U.S. Air Force intelligence specialist and special agent for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, served in the military between 1997 and 2008 before working as a U.S. government contractor until 2010.

FBI Washington Field Office Announces $200,000 Reward for Information Leading to Arrest of Former U.S. Counterintelligence Agent Monica Witt: In 2013, Witt defected to Iran and then allegedly provided national defense information to the Iranian government.
https://t.co/1vC0QBNZhk pic.twitter.com/zaNnQkcFvs— FBI Washington Field (@FBIWFO) May 14, 2026

Her military service and contracting employment provided her access to SECRET and TOP SECRET information relating to foreign intelligence and counterintelligence, including the true names of U.S. Intelligence Community undercover personnel.

In 2013, Witt defected to Iran.

According to the indictment, she subsequently provided information to the government of Iran, placing at risk sensitive and classified U.S. national defense information and programs. Witt allegedly intentionally provided information endangering U.S personnel and their families stationed abroad. She also allegedly conducted research on behalf of the Iranian regime to allow them to target her former colleagues in the U.S. government.

Witt’s defection to Iran has benefitted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which has elements responsible for intelligence collection, unconventional warfare, and providing direct support to multiple terrorist organizations targeting U.S. citizens and interests.

While Witt has been indicted for her alleged crimes, she remains at large. The FBI continues to actively work to locate Witt and bring her to justice.

“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. The FBI wants to hear from you so you can help us apprehend Witt and bring her to justice.”

Anyone who has information about Witt should contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI. You can also contact your local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate or submit a tip via tips.fbi.gov.

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One, how did she pass her clearances? She clearly had an affinity to them that was missed.
Two, why would you throw your life away like that? She had know that she can never leave Iran without a strong likelihood she’d be snatched and returned for trial.

And the dirty secret about being a traitor, is that the country you defect to will never really trust you. After all, you turned against your own people, so how can THEY ever really trust you.

They think they will be welcomed as a hero, but as soon as they know everything they know... they just become an expense instead of an asset.

Monica Elfriede Witt (born 8 April 1979) is a former defense contractor and intelligence technical sergeant of the USAF who defected to Iran in 2013 and is currently a top FBI fugitive wanted for a 2018 indictment of espionage against the United States. From 2003 and 2008, her work involved counterintelligence assignments that took her to the Middle East. U.S. assistant attorney general John Demers charged Witt in 2018 and claims she likely provided Iran with the existence of a “highly classified intelligence collection program” and the identity of a US intelligence officer, “thereby risking the life of this individual.”
Born in Texas, Witt enlisted in the USAF in 1997 as a linguist and studied the Persian language at the Defense Language Institute before becoming an Airborne Cryptologic Language Analyst. She was then assigned to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations as an enlisted counterintelligence special agent until separating from the Air Force in 2008. She continued working in intelligence as a military contractor until 2010.
After her 2012 conversion to Islam in Iran, Witt became increasingly focused on the religion and the region. Her master's degree capstone presentation lauded them both, and she was soon affiliated with Marzieh Hashemi, a suspected Iranian intelligence operative. With Hashemi's assistance, Witt defected to Iran in 2013 and provided the Islamic republic with assistance and intelligence stemming from her work for and with the US government.
-Wikipedia

Regards,

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