Dating app scammer cons former US army colonel into leaking national secrets

Even hard-headed military types can fall victim to romance scams, it seems. A former US army colonel faces up to ten years in prison after revealing national secrets on a foreign dating app.

David Slater was a retired colonel in the US army who took up work as a civilian at US Strategic Command, according to the Department of Justice. He spilled the beans on a foreign online dating app between February and April 2022. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

The DoJ’s indictment against Slater doesn’t reveal what app he used, but he talked to someone claiming to be a Ukrainian woman repeatedly via the app and email. The person, named as ‘co-conspirator 1’, called him ‘my secret information love’.

‘Co-conspirator 1’ whispered sweet nothings including “Beloved Dave, do NATO and Biden have a secret plan to help us?” which they sent in March that year. The following month, they sent “Sweet Dave, the supply of weapons is completely classified, which is great,” and “My sweet Dave, thanks for the valuable information, it’s great that two officials from the USA are going to Kyiv”.

The indictment said that Slater provided classified information about military targets and Russian military capabilities, even though he knew this could be damaging to the US.

The DoJ originally prosecuted Slater on three counts, covering conspiracy to disclose National Defense Information and the actual transmission of those secrets. He “willfully, improperly, and unlawfully conspiring to transmit National Defense Information classified as ‘SECRET’,” according to the indictment.

On Friday, Slater pleaded guilty to conspiracy. Under the plea deal, prosecutors have dropped the other two charges. Although he could still receive the maximum ten-year penalty, the government will recommend a sentence of between five and seven years in jail when sentenced on August 8.

Slater’s years of military experience meant he should have known better, said DoJ prosecutors. But this sad story shows just how powerful emotions can be in causing someone to cross personal and professional boundaries. It’s entirely possible, of course, that ‘co-conspirator 1’ was a legitimate love interest, but just as likely that they were working on behalf of a foreign state actor. No matter which, it was wrong to divulge secrets that might have put lives in danger.

So what can we learn from this? Most people reading this story won’t be privvy to such secrets, but many might be lonely, or know someone who is. Romance scammers target people desperate for affection and human connection. It makes it easier to scam someone when they’re eager to believe that you’re legitimate and telling them the truth.

For most romance scam victims, the target is money rather than state secrets. One in ten victims lose $10,000 or more. That’s why it’s important to continually check in on those in your life who may be vulnerable. Even those that you think are savvy and immune to scams might be at risk. Loneliness can make even the most skeptical person do some questionable things.

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