Son Of Disgraced CIA Employee Pleads Guilty To Conspiracy

Washington, D.C. (AHN) – The 25-year-old son of a high ranking former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) employee currently serving a sentence for espionage, plead guilty on Thursday to conspiracy. Specifically, to acting as an agent of a foreign government and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Nathaniel J. Nicholson’s father, Harold J. Nicholson, a former CIA employee, is serving a 283-month sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Sheridan, Oregon, for a 1997 conviction of conspiracy to commit espionage. The government alleges that defendant Harold J. Nicholson, working through his son Nathaniel J. Nicholson, received cash proceeds for his past espionage activities from agents of the Russian Federation between 2006 and 2008.

“Despite imprisonment, convicted spy Harold Nicholson was able to profit from his previous acts of espionage by continuing to collect money from the Russian Federation through his son, Nathaniel James Nicholson,” said Executive Assistant Director Arthur M. Cummings, II, of the FBI National Security Division.

According to court documents Nathaniel J. Nicholson admitted in his plea that he met with his father, Harold J. Nicholson at the prison in Sheridan on several occasions. It was during these encounters that he received information and directions from his father regarding his contact with agents of the Russian Federation.

Nicholson’s testimony also revealed he traveled to several locations outside the United States, met with agents of the Russian Federation, and received money which he admitted was payments from his father’s past espionage activities.

Nicholson further revealed that an agent of the Russian Federation asked him to obtain information from his father Harold J. Nicholson. Nicholson finished his father’s orders by dispersing the recently collected monies to members of their family.

“Nathaniel Nicholson traveled the globe to collect money from and pass information to Russian agents on behalf of his imprisoned father, one of the highest-ranking CIA officials ever convicted of espionage. By doing so, Nathanial joined his father’s long-running criminal scheme to provide information to Russia for financial gain,” said David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.

As part of the plea, the defendant agreed to forfeit the $9,500 seized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on December 15, 2008 upon his return from Cyprus. Additionally, as part of the plea, he has agreed to testify on behalf of the government about his conduct involving his father and the Russian Federation between 2006 and 2008.

The 25-year-old is now facing a possible maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000, and 20 years in prison and a fine of $500,000, respectively. His sentencing is scheduled for January 25, 2010.

Related posts:

1. Madoff’s Financial Chief Pleads Guilty In New York
2. Chris Brown Pleads Guilty, Sentenced in Rihanna Assault Case
3. International Computer Hacker Pleads Guilty For Attacks On U.S. Retailers
4. Chris Brown pleads not guilty in Rihanna assault case
5. Florida Keys Men Plead Guilty To Poaching Spiny Lobster From Artificial Habitat