Crime
Judge holds CIA agent without bail on fears the man might sell secrets
By: Freeman Klopott
Examiner Staff Writer
February 6, 2009
A CIA agent accused of putting more than $100,000 in personal charges on stolen agency credit cards is being held without bail because a federal judge fears he might sell state secrets to cover financial losses, court documents said.
Steven J. Levan, 48, of Arlington, is expected to enter a plea today in Alexandria’s federal court. He is charged with fraud after allegedly stealing several credit cards that belonged to the CIA and other agencies and charging about $107,000, court documents said.
The CIA has paid the 16-year veteran’s charges “in order to maintain the means by which the agency protects the identity of certain of its employees,” a U.S. Postal Inspector wrote in a sworn statement.
Among the list of charges were $7,446 at a hotel in McLean in September and $709 at a McLean jewelry store in May, the statement said.
“It is undeniable that Mr. Levan recently has suffered from severe financial strain, and as a result the government alleges he took several credit cards that belonged to the CIA,” his attorney Michael Nachmanoff wrote as he argued that Levan be released on bail. Levan has been held without bail since his Jan. 9 arrest because Judge Thomas Rawles Jones Jr. said there was a “danger that Mr. Levan might decide to sell information to foreign states in order to make money,” Nachmanoff wrote, calling the claim “rank speculation.”
Federal judges have acted differently in a recent, high-profile case involving CIA agents. In September, Kyle Foggo pleaded guilty to bilking millions of dollars through phony contracts while he held the third-highest post in the agency. Foggo, however, is still out on bail as he awaits sentencing. Nachmanoff argued that Levan, a member of the Army Reserves who went to college at the Virginia Military Institute and received a master’s degree from the Naval War College, has made no effort to profit by selling confidential information.
Levan also has reason not to flee the charges, Nachmanoff said. Levan’s wife, from whom he is separated, and two children, ages 12 and 10, live in Burke. Calls to the CIA and Nachmanoff were not returned Thursday. Court documents indicate Levan has been fired from his job as a CIA case agent.
Steven J. Levan, 48, of Arlington, is expected to enter a plea today in Alexandria’s federal court. He is charged with fraud after allegedly stealing several credit cards that belonged to the CIA and other agencies and charging about $107,000, court documents said.
The CIA has paid the 16-year veteran’s charges “in order to maintain the means by which the agency protects the identity of certain of its employees,” a U.S. Postal Inspector wrote in a sworn statement.
Among the list of charges were $7,446 at a hotel in McLean in September and $709 at a McLean jewelry store in May, the statement said.
“It is undeniable that Mr. Levan recently has suffered from severe financial strain, and as a result the government alleges he took several credit cards that belonged to the CIA,” his attorney Michael Nachmanoff wrote as he argued that Levan be released on bail. Levan has been held without bail since his Jan. 9 arrest because Judge Thomas Rawles Jones Jr. said there was a “danger that Mr. Levan might decide to sell information to foreign states in order to make money,” Nachmanoff wrote, calling the claim “rank speculation.”
Federal judges have acted differently in a recent, high-profile case involving CIA agents. In September, Kyle Foggo pleaded guilty to bilking millions of dollars through phony contracts while he held the third-highest post in the agency. Foggo, however, is still out on bail as he awaits sentencing. Nachmanoff argued that Levan, a member of the Army Reserves who went to college at the Virginia Military Institute and received a master’s degree from the Naval War College, has made no effort to profit by selling confidential information.
Levan also has reason not to flee the charges, Nachmanoff said. Levan’s wife, from whom he is separated, and two children, ages 12 and 10, live in Burke. Calls to the CIA and Nachmanoff were not returned Thursday. Court documents indicate Levan has been fired from his job as a CIA case agent.
