FBI Investigated NSA Impersonation

NSA headquarters, Fort Meade, MD

Expanding Frontiers Research recently obtained more FBI records on the late John Bernard Kihm III (1936-2021), in addition to those previously published in a February blogpost. The Bureau provided seven more pages of responsive records that consist of a 1977 National Security Agency memo directed to the FBI in which Kihm was the subject. The material also includes a 1977 Department of Justice and FBI document, “John Bernard Kihm, Impersonation,” that integrates information collected from multiple law enforcement and intelligence agencies during the investigation of Kihm reportedly presenting himself as a leader of the National Security Agency.

A 2021 obituary states John Bernard Kihm III was a Navy Intelligence man who “worked along with the Central Intelligence Agency.” As part of his cover, the obituary continues, Kihm started the Prudential Mortgage Company and became a real estate broker in 1958.

The circumstances caught this writer's attention due to a 1975 lawsuit against the CIA in which Andres Castro of Bell Mortgage admitted selling counterfeit mortgages but claimed the Agency put him up to it. Castro said two men, Guillermo Iglesias and Antonio Yglesias, persuaded him in 1973 to let them use his company as a front to raise money for covert CIA activities. The suit was ultimately dismissed, and fraud charges were leveled against Castro, but not before the CIA fascinatingly admitted in court papers it filed that Iglesias and Yglesias had both been employed by the CIA, according to The (Wilmington, DE) Morning News. The Agency denied the two were acting on its behalf in seeking money from Bell Mortgage.

A FOIA request submitted to the FBI on the late John Bernard Kihm III has thus far failed to verify his roles in Navy Intelligence or constructing CIA cover around a mortgage office. It should be noted some 25 of 76 responsive pages were initially withheld in full and EFR filed an appeal for their release. The appeal remains pending as of this writing.

The released records provide documentation of Kihm's repeated interactions with police, stemming from incidents ranging from alcohol abuse to criminal violence. A 1977 FBI memo documented Kihm had been described as a “gun nut” and “mentally unbalanced.” The memo clarified he should be considered armed and dangerous when approached.

The latest material obtained from the FBI documents Kihm's unambiguous misrepresentation of himself as the “West Coast representative” of the NSA. The United States Attorney's Office declined to press charges because Kihm's impersonation, as described by the NSA and other agencies, seemed to lack criminal intent.

Kihm ostensibly opened a private guard service in the 1970s and titled it the National Security Agency. According to the federal agency of the same name, Kihm then attempted to obtain an ID card from the NSA, as indicated in the image below. The NSA clarified Kihm was prone to reportedly identifying his private company to law enforcement agencies as part of the Department of Defense:

By the latter part of 1977, FBI records indicate, Kihm voluntarily closed a bank account bearing the NSA name. He claimed he was unaware his actions were in violation of any laws and considered his company to be defunct since learning otherwise.

View the most recently obtained FBI records responsive to John Bernard Kihm III on Google Drive. The master folder of records released to date may also be accessed.