The affidavit states Perez-Lugones is employed as a systems engineer and information technology specialist for a government contracting firm whose principal client is a government agency. He reportedly had “heightened access to classified systems, networks, databases, and repositories” to “maintain, support, and optimize various computer systems, networks, and software.”
FBI says documents recovered from man’s car and home
The affidavit alleges that “Perez-Lugones navigated to and searched databases or repositories containing classified information without authorization.” The FBI contends that on October 28, 2025, he captured screenshots of a classified intelligence report about a foreign country, inserted those screenshots into a Microsoft Word document, and printed the file.
The employer can retrieve logs of printing activity on classified systems, and “a review of Perez-Lugones’ printing activity on that dates [sic] showed that he had printed innocuous sounding documents (i.e., Microsoft Word‐Document 1) that really contained classified and sensitive reports,” the affidavit notes.
Prosecutors say Perez-Lugones later accessed and viewed a “classified intelligence report related to Government operational activity” on January 5, 2026. On January 7, he was observed at his workplace taking notes on a yellow notepad while repeatedly glancing between the notepad and a computer logged into the classified system, the affidavit states.
On January 8, investigators executed search warrants at his home in Laurel, Maryland, and his vehicle. They found a document marked SECRET inside a lunchbox in his car and another SECRET document in his basement, the affidavit reports.
Earlier video surveillance showed Perez-Lugones at his cubicle viewing the document later recovered from the lunchbox, the affidavit says. Investigators determined he “remov[ed] the classification header/footer markings from this document prior to leaving his workplace.”
The US law Perez-Lugones is accused of violating carries penalties including fines or up to 10 years in prison. A magistrate judge ruled he could be released, but that ruling is being reviewed by the court at the request of the US government.
