Sumith Prasad
Paramount+ with Showtime’s documentary ‘The Honey Trap: A True Story of Love, Lies and the FBI’ revolves around the relationship between Daniela Greene, who worked as a contract linguist for the FBI, and Denis Cuspert, a German rapper who went on to become a high-profile member of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. Even though she was born in Czechoslovakia, Daniela grew up in Germany and moved to the United States after marrying Sergeant Matthew “Matt” Greene of the US Army. After completing her studies in Oklahoma and South Carolina, she joined the FBI, a decision that turned her life around.
Daniela Greene Tied the Knot With Denis Cuspert in Syria
Daniela Greene joined the FBI as a contract linguist fluent in German. Following her appointment, she received a top-secret national security clearance. In 2014, the linguist joined the Detroit office of the bureau to be involved in the case of a German terrorist “in an investigative capacity,” as per court records. CNN later confirmed that the target of the investigation was Denis Cuspert, who joined ISIS after a notable career as a rapper known as Deso Dogg. After joining the case, Daniela discovered Denis’ online accounts and phone numbers. As the documentary reveals, she maintained contact with him through Skype, using two accounts.
In the first half of June 2014, Daniela submitted a Report of Foreign Travel to the FBI, stating that she wanted to visit her parents in Munich, Germany. She began her journey on June 23, only to end up in Turkey rather than in the country where her loved ones lived. From Gaziantep, she crossed the border of Syria and met Denis for the first time. They got married on June 27. During this period, Daniela revealed to the former rapper that “she was employed by the FBI and that the FBI had an open investigation into his activities,” according to the court documents.
Daniela and Denis’ relationship did not last very long. Around eleven days after their wedding, through the emails Daniela sent to an unidentified person, she expressed how she regretted moving to the Middle Eastern country and marrying an ISIS member. “I was weak and didn’t know how to handle anything anymore,” Daniela explained the motivation behind her actions in an email. “I wish I could turn back time some days,” reads another. Surprisingly, she was able to escape from Syria and return to the United States, even though the expectation was that she would wound up dead.
Daniela Greene Received a Reduced Sentence After Cooperating With the Authorities
Daniela Greene returned to the US in August 2014. She was arrested on August 6 for “making a false statement involving terrorism” to the FBI. The former linguist faced around eight years in prison. Interestingly, the average sentence in ISIS prosecutions involving Americans was 13 ½ years. However, after pleading guilty, she was sentenced to only two years in prison, which surprised many. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Gillice justified the reduced sentence, stating, “The defendant appears to have done all within her power to assist the government since her arrest.” The lawyer described her cooperation with the authorities after her arrest as “significant, long-running, and substantial,” which made the lenient sentence possible.
After Daniela’s conviction, the court documents were sealed until 2015, but the case remained obscure until CNN released a feature about her in May 2017. By then, she had been released from prison following the completion of her term in August 2016. The story was produced and published after reaching out to Daniela, who declined to be interviewed in detail. “If I talk to you, my family will be in danger,” she told CNN. Shawn Moore, her attorney, also didn’t delve into the specifics of his client’s case in detail. He only revealed that she was “genuinely remorseful” of her decisions and described her as a “well-meaning person [who] got up in something way over her head” to CNN.
Daniela Greene is Leading a Secretive Life Today
Even though CNN produced Daniela Greene’s story without disclosing her location, the press and media did not take long to locate her. On May 3, 2017, the New York Post revealed that she had relocated to Syracuse, New York, to live in a neighborhood known for a significant population of Muslim immigrants. At the time, she worked as a hostess in an unrevealed hotel lounge. When the NY Post approached her to discuss her relationship with Denis Cuspert, she refused to talk to the journalists. Since then, Daniela has led a highly secretive life. It is unclear whether she still lives in Syracuse or works as a hostess.
The relationship between Daniela and her first husband, Matthew “Matt” Greene, did not survive her brief affair with Denis. Through his stepmother, the United States Army veteran conveyed to the NY Post that his bond with the former FBI linguist “is over.” When her sister-in-law, Renee Greene, tried to contact her, the response was not agreeable to the former. “She [Daniela] was really snobby and hateful to me on the phone, and I’ve never even met her,” Renee told the NY Post. “You’d think doing something like this, you’d get kicked out of the country,” she added.
From her responses to the prosecutors and the press, Daniela proved that she wanted to move on from her relationship with Denis, which explains why she has chosen to keep her current whereabouts private. It appears to us that she has been trying her best to rebuild her life following the unfortunate turn of events that subjected her to intense scrutiny and placed her in the international spotlight.
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