A 46-year-old Camarillo man has been charged with using his access as a civilian contractor to illegally film U.S. naval base activities and equipment, according to FBI Los Angeles. Todd Senff now faces 14 federal misdemeanor counts carrying a combined statutory maximum of up to 12.5 years in prison.
In a post on X, FBI Los Angeles
said Senff of Camarillo has been charged with using his access as a civilian contractor to illegally film U.S. naval base activities and equipment. Federal court documents allege that between June and September 2024, Senff filmed restricted aircraft and operational exercises at Naval Base Ventura County, including F-35 fighter jets, an F-15E, an F/A-18 inside a hangar, and military helicopters, according to Instagram account
@theaviationaddict
. The charges were filed roughly two years after the alleged filming took place.
Court filings allege Senff sent portions of the base footage and messages describing military activity to associates, though the DOJ announcement, as described by the same Instagram account, did not allege espionage. Federal authorities have instead framed the case around the misuse of trusted credential access inside restricted military space.
A Connection to the Base
Senff served as a Senior Airman with the 146th Civil Engineer Squadron of the California Air National Guard, working inside the project management office starting in 2009 to inspect contracted vendor projects across the installation, according to the 146th Airlift Wing.
The FBI identifies Senff as being from Camarillo, and the allegations center on Naval Base Ventura County.
The Federal Statutes Behind the Charges
Under 18 U.S.C. § 795, photographing, sketching, or mapping vital military or naval installations and equipment without prior authorization from the commanding officer is a federal misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison per count, according to the Office of the Law Revision Counsel. A related statute, 18 U.S.C. § 797, makes it a separate offense to reproduce, publish, sell, or distribute unauthorized photographs or visual representations of defense installations.
Federal authorities have maintained active enforcement under the same photography statute in other recent cases, including a case reported in May 2026 against a foreign national charged with photographing reconnaissance aircraft at Offutt Air Force Base, according to a report from Simple Flying. The Offutt case involved alleged photography from a public road, while Senff is accused of filming with contractor access.
