KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WOKI / WVLT) — A former employee at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been sentenced to federal prison after admitting to acting as an agent of a foreign government and providing false information while seeking a U.S. security clearance.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, 59-year-old Portia Anyamba of Knoxville pleaded guilty to one count of acting as an agent of a foreign government and one count of making false statements during the federal security clearance process.
On June 17, a federal judge sentenced Anyamba to six months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay a $9,500 fine.
Federal investigators say Anyamba acted under the direction and control of South Africa while working in the United States. The investigation, led by the FBI’s Nashville Field Office and the Department of Energy’s Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, found that she maintained regular communication with a South African intelligence officer identified in court documents as “IO-1.”
Court records show Anyamba worked as a Program Management Operational Specialist in the National Security Program Office at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 2023 and 2024, a role that brought her into a highly sensitive federal environment.
Authorities say those communications included in-person meetings and coordination involving materials. In February 2024, investigators surveilled a meeting set up by IO-1 in Knoxville. According to the DOJ, the group met at a restaurant before going to a nearby hotel. After returning home, Anyamba retrieved an item from her car and brought it inside.
Prosecutors also said that ahead of another planned meeting, the intelligence officer instructed Anyamba to “remember to also bring the laptop.”
On November 7, 2024, FBI agents intercepted Anyamba in Knoxville’s Turkey Creek shopping district and took possession of a laptop in her custody.
The DOJ said Anyamba was simultaneously applying for a U.S. government security clearance — a process that would have granted her access to classified information. As part of that process, she completed the required SF-86 form, where applicants must disclose foreign contacts and affiliations.
Court documents show Anyamba falsely answered “no” when asked if she had ongoing contact with foreign nationals or representatives of a foreign government within the past seven years.
Officials say those false statements were a key part of the criminal case against her, as they concealed her relationship with foreign intelligence contacts while she sought access to sensitive U.S. information.
The case underscores ongoing federal concerns about insider threats and the protection of national security information within government-affiliated research institutions like ORNL.
