This marked the second sting of an American Jew by the FBI in connection
with the relay of business data to Israel over the last year. In October
2009, an American Jew, approached by an FBI agent who pretended to be a
Mossad officer, was indicted on charges of offering U.S. military and
defense information to Israel.
Both cases appeared similar in that an FBI agent approached the Jewish
target and, in the name of helping Israel, appealed for classified or
proprietary data. Doxer, a 42-year-old employee in Akamai's finance
department, was said to have been approached in 2007 by the FBI a year after
he e-mailed an offer to the Israeli consulate in Boston. The FBI agent, who
handled Doxer for 18 months, claimed he represented Israel.
The criminal complaint did not say how the FBI obtained the e-mail
allegedly sent by Doxer to the Israeli consulate, identified as "Country X."
Prosecutors said Doxer, who faces 20 years for wire fraud, requested $3,000
for supplying details of contracts and information on employees.
"I am a Jewish American who lives in Boston," Doxer's e-mail was quoted
as saying. "I know you are always looking for information and I am offering
the little I may have.
Akamai's servers were said to handle up to 30 percent of daily global
Internet traffic. The company, founded by an Israeli and whose customers
include the U.S. Homeland Security Department, has been contracted to
maintain and enhance Web sites.
"There is no evidence that Doxer disclosed any information referenced in
the complaint to anyone outside of law enforcement," Akamai said.
The complaint quoted a September 2007 telephone conversation between
Doxer and the FBI undercover agent who said he represented Israel. In the
conversation, the agent, who called himself Benjamin, said Doxer would be
sent instructions on how to communicate to his purported Israeli handler.
FBI agent James Cromer did not accuse Doxer of transferring security or
government classified data. The officer, who also did not explain why Doxer
was being charged nearly three years after the FBI investigation, said the
information allegedly relayed consisted of client lists and contracts.
"The contracts that Doxer provided were generally marked as
confidential," the complaint, which did not cite Akamai as a plaintiff, said.
In 2009, the FBI reported the first sting in which an agent posed as a
Mossad officer. A month before his arrest, Stewart Nozette, a consultant for
Israel Aerospace Industries, was said to have been approached by an FBI
undercover agent who asked the former NASA scientist to work for Israeli
intelligence. Like Doxer, Nozette said he did not have access to classified
information. No trial date has been scheduled.
"I don’t say it very often, but umm, I work for Israeli intelligence,"
the FBI agent was quoted as telling Nozette.
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