Man Loses Nuclear Security Clearance After Getting Catfished by a Celebrity Meme

A Department of Energy (DOE) contractor lost his security clearance after getting catfished by someone online who he thought was a famous actress.

The contractor sent the “celebrity” $3,800 in money he’d embezzled from a non-profit and then got into a physical fight with his family when they found out. The fight landed him in jail and when he got out, he failed to report the arrest and the embezzlement to his employer.  When the DOE asked why, he told them he assumed the forms the DOE had sent him were part of an elaborate phishing scam.

The DOE is the U.S. governmental agency that oversees its nuclear arsenal. It does everything from researching new nuclear weapons, maintaining missile silos, and disposing of nuclear waste. As part of that job, it employs a lot of contractors who require security clearances and, in some cases, access to nuclear material.

On June 28, 2024, an Administrative Judge revoked a contractor’s security clearance after the man was caught embezzling money from a non-profit to pay a person he met online who he claimed was a famous actress. The man said he’d paid the money back but the situation spiraled out of control and the fallout earned him an assault charge, anger management classes, and a restraining order from his wife and kids.

“At the hearing, the Individual testified that he still was not sure who he had been talking to online but when asked did not rule out that it could have been the actress,” the DOE said in a press release about the hearing.

“She said that she—she—she said that she was at a point in her life where she needed somebody, but she couldn’t find somebody that—that—where she was. Meaning that in California. She couldn’t find somebody that—that she wanted to be with,” the man said when questioned about the fake celebrity, according to a court filing. “But her meme, you know, her little picture up in the corner, you know, was a picture of her. So, I mean, I guess, you know, anybody could pull picture up off the Internet, and put it up there, you know, but it wasn’t a reason—I mean, the way she talked and how she talked and everything didn’t lead me to believe that it wasn’t her.”

Sometime before December 2023, the contractor met a person online who he said was a famous actress. The report doesn’t specify who this actress is. During their relationship he “purchased gaming gift cards for her children totaling $180, purchased a $500 security card for her, and sent her $3,207.88 for fees associated with a car he believed she had purchased for him,” according to court records.

To get the cash, he embezzled the money from a non-profit where he was a board member. According to court filings, he admitted he’d stolen the money from another board member during a meeting at his home.

“While he was telling this board member about this conduct, his wife returned home and also learned about the behavior. He testified that his wife and the board member were upset by this news and he ‘had two women in [his] face shouting,’” the court filings said.

The shouting drew the attention of the man’s two sons which led to a physical confrontation, the report says. The contractor tried to leave the house, but his sons wouldn’t let him. There was a “pushing fight,” one of his sons was injured, and then they restrained him on the floor. The contractor left his home. When he came back the cops were there. He was arrested and everyone who was in the house, including the woman who sat on a non-profit board with him, got restraining orders against him.

When a person with a security clearance has a brush with the law, they’re supposed to report it to their employer. The DOE says the former contractor called and left a voicemail. His bosses then sent him paperwork to fill out to report the arrest but he didn’t do it until someone confronted him.

“He resisted completing the forms because he questioned whether the request was an email phishing scam,” a DOE press release said.

“He testified that he could not explain why he questioned the legitimacy of the [DOE’s] email but sent thousands of dollars to a stranger online. He presented evidence that he had repaid the non-profit for the stolen money,” a court filing said. “As of the hearing, the protective orders were still in place.”

The Department of Energy did not return Gizmodo’s request for comment.