According to reports, NASA is currently carrying out an investigation where a claim has been made that an astronaut of NASA, Anne McClain, accessed the bank account of her estranged spouse while onboard the ISS. This might become the first crime that was committed in space.
Astronaut Anne McClain and Summer Worden, an Air Force intelligence officer were married in 2014. However, the couple split in 2019 when Ms. Worden filed for divorce. The pair have been involved in an ongoing custody battle over Worden’s young son for the past year. However, things got more complicated after Worden accused her ex-spouse of accessing her bank account from aboard the ISS illegally.
Astronaut Anne McClain has admitted to logging into Ms. Worden’s bank account from aboard the ISS but denies any wrong-doing while claiming that she was only keeping an eye on the family finances for making sure that their son was being taken care of properly. Ms. Worden said that she became suspicious when her ex-partner seemed to know details about her spending. She asked her bank about the locations from where it had been accessed and learned that one of the computers used to access the bank account was registered to NASA.
Ms. Worden filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), where she has alleged improper access to private financial records and identity theft. Anne McClain wrote on Twitter, ‘There’s unequivocally no truth to these claims. We’ve been going through a painful, personal separation that’s now unfortunately in the media.’
Ms. Worden has said, ‘I was shocked and appalled at the audacity by her to think that she could get away with that, and I was very disheartened that I couldn’t keep anything private.’ NASA’s Office of Inspector General is investigating the allegations made against McClain and if proven true; would most likely get termed as the first crime committed in space.