A U.S. intelligence worker charged with trying to leak state secrets to a foreign spy agency was hired as a 22-year-old with little professional experience outside the cash register at a local grocery store, The Daily Beast can reveal.
His professional experience prior to joining a U.S. national security agency was remarkably similar to that of Thomas Fugate, who has just been appointed to lead terror prevention at the Department of Homeland Security.
A cybersecurity graduate of Florida Polytechnic University, Nathan Vilas Laatsch is the second national security official in two days whom The Daily Beast has revealed to have virtually no professional experience other than working at a grocery store before being hired by a U.S national security agency at the age of 22.
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Laatsch, now 28, a computer scientist with “top secret” clearance at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) in Virginia, was hired under the last Trump administration. He was arrested last week, accused of attempting to pass sensitive information to Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND).
When Laatsch was hired for the role with a Top Secret security clearance at the age of 22 in August 2019, he had just stopped working as a cashier at Publix supermarket in Plant City, Florida, according to his LinkedIn account.
His skills included “providing customer service,” “handling moderate amounts of money,” and “operating a cash register.“
It allegedly proved to be a terrible appointment. Laatsch was arrested last week after an FBI counterintelligence operation.
Thomas Fugate, who graduated from college just 12 months ago, has been tasked by Trump with tackling U.S. extremism while leading the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships at the Department of Homeland Security, having been employed as a ‘Cross Functional Team Member’ at a grocery store less than two years ago.
Fugate had also been working as a neighborhood gardener just five years ago. There is no suggestion he has done anything illegal.
In March 2025, the FBI commenced an operation after receiving a tip that Laatsch had contacted the BND, stating that he “did not agree or align with the values of this [Trump] administration.”
He allegedly stated he was prepared to share “completed intelligence products, some unprocessed intelligence, and other assorted classified documentation,” according to court documents quoted by the Department of Justice.
He stated that he was interested in German “citizenship” because he did not “expect things here to improve in the long term,” and was not seeking “material compensation.”
On May 14, an undercover FBI agent allegedly advised Laatsch that they were prepared to receive additional classified information. Between May 15 and May 27, Laatsch is accused of transcribing multiple pages of notes while logged into his classified workstation, folding the notes, and exfiltrating the classified information in his clothing.
On May 29, Laatsch arrived at a prearranged location in northern Virginia, where he was arrested. He made his initial court appearance in the Eastern District of Virginia the following day.
The DIA has been approached for comment but has not yet responded.
