NOAA National Weather Service Employee Indicted for Allegedly Downloading Restricted Government Files DAYTON , OHXiafen Sherry Chen , 59 , of Wilmington , Ohio , was indicted in U.S. District Court for allegedly accessing restricted U.S. Government files . Chen is a hydrologist currently employed at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations ( NOAA ) facility located in Wilmington , Ohio . Carter M. Stewart , United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio , Kevin R. Cornelius , Special Agent in Charge for the Federal Bureau of Investigation ( FBI ) in Cincinnati , Ohio , Dr. Kathryn Sullivan , the NOAA Administrator and George Lee , Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Commerces Investigations and Threat Management Division announced the indictment today . The indictment alleges that on various dates in May 2012 , Chen illegally accessed restricted areas of a protected U.S. Government computer database and downloaded sensitive files from the National Inventory of Dams . This database is maintained and controlled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in conjunction with the National Dam Safety Review Board . The indictment further alleges that on June 11 , 2013 , Chen provided materially false statements to officials from the Department of Commerce Office of Security who were assigned to investigate her activities . The indictment charges Chen with one count of theft of U.S. Government property , a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $ 250,000 fine ; one count of illegally accessing a U.S. Government computer database , a crime punishable by up to five years in prison and a $ 250,000 fine ; and two counts of making materially false statements to federal agents , crimes each punishable by up to five years in prison and a $ 250,000 fine . Chen was arrested today by FBI agents at her place of work at the Wilmington , Ohio NOAA facility . U.S. Attorney Stewart commended FBI and the U.S. Department of Commerces Office of Security who are jointly investigating this case . Assistant United States Attorney Dwight Keller is representing the government in this case . An indictment merely contains allegations , and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law . ;