This page maps the documented overlap between the U.S. Department of Energy's surplus plutonium program, its PCAST advisors, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the dead or missing scientists — five companies, thirteen scientists, one federal decision. The connections are presented as documented institutional overlaps, not as proof of a coordinated scheme.
On May 26, 2026, the Department of Energy quietly announced it would transfer 20 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium — enough for roughly 2,000 nuclear warheads — to five private companies. The next day, Pam Bondi was added to PCAST, the presidential science advisory board whose members overlap directly with the companies receiving the material.
The Leah Files followed the money through all five companies and found a web of conflicts of interest, revolving doors, and foreign entanglements connecting them to PCAST, the DOE, and each other. Oklo's CEO sits on PCAST while its stock surged 59%. The DOE Secretary sat on Oklo's board until months before taking office. Andreessen invests in Standard Nuclear through a16z — while also sitting on PCAST. One recipient, Exodys Energy, has raised only $2.47M and has no working reactor. Another, Standard Nuclear, is a joint venture with a French state company that has an active partnership with Russia's Rosatom.
Then there are the scientists. 13 researchers connected to nuclear, fusion, and defense programs have turned up dead or missing — and their work traces directly back to the companies and leadership in this network. The most direct link: Nuno Loureiro, who directed the MIT lab that spun out Commonwealth Fusion Systems, was shot dead at home in December 2025. Three months later, Commonwealth Fusion's CEO Bob Mumgaard was named to PCAST. Two months after that, the plutonium deal was announced.
And the lab that sources the plutonium itself — Los Alamos — has lost five connected people since February 2024, including former director Charles McMillan — the man who oversaw the nation’s only plutonium-pit facility and certified the stockpile to the President for seven years — and nuclear-weapon-trigger chemist Philip Leonard. Both were killed in nearly identical head-on crashes on the lab’s own road network, seven months apart.
The Federal Bodies
PCAST
- DeWitte (Oklo) — Mumgaard — Andreessen
- Ellison — Catz — Huang — Bondi (May 27)
Department of Energy
- Sec. Chris Wright (former Oklo board)
- 3 of 11 Oklo directors are DOE alumni
The 5 Companies
CEO + COO sold $60M+ in stock on 10b5-1 plan from 3/31/25.
Board includes: 3 ex-DOE officials, Koch, MITRE.
Joint venture with Framatome (French state) with active Rosatom partnership.
a16z investor — Andreessen (also PCAST member).
FDA warning letter 3/24/26: $2B market cap loss + securities suit.
Pu-238 → NASA fuel pipeline.
DOE-funded research. No commercial reactor.
Co-founded with La Hague, France.
Board: V/Adm Hilarides (NAVSEA, $100B procurement).
The Key Figures
The Los Alamos Cluster
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a primary source of the surplus plutonium being transferred to the five companies above. Since February 2024 the lab has lost five connected people: two killed in head-on crashes on the lab’s own road network within seven months — including its former director — followed by three NNSA-connected workers who vanished within a four-month window in 2025.
As director he personally oversaw Plutonium Facility 4 (PF-4) — the only facility in America that produces plutonium pits for nuclear warheads — and signed seven annual assessment reports to the President and Congress certifying the stockpile was safe, secure, and reliable.
The oversight didn’t end at retirement. He sat on the Defense Science Board’s Permanent Subcommittee on Nuclear Weapons Surety and was elected by his peers to lead the Nuclear Security Enterprise Integration Council — oversight spanning LANL, Livermore, Sandia, Pantex, and Y-12. His DSB appointment was scheduled to end September 6, 2024 — the day he died. Nine months earlier he had joined Sen. Schumer’s AI & National Security Insight Forum; Sen. Heinrich described being “in deep conversation, mapping out America’s leadership on artificial intelligence” with him shortly before his death.
Killed at ~5:15 AM on NM-502 — the road leading directly to LANL — when a 22-year-old driver crossed the double yellow line and told police she did not remember what led up to the crash. Gouge marks and a witness confirmed the lane departure. A 293-page police report later, the DA found “insufficient evidence” for felony vehicular homicide. April 2026: fully suspended sentence, $1,500 in fines, no jail time.
He held U.S. Patent 10,421,709 for the production of TATB — the primary insensitive high explosive used in nuclear weapon detonators and explosive lenses. His expertise was the weaponization layer: the capability that makes raw plutonium dangerous.
Killed head-on at ~7:27 AM on NM-501, the LANL truck route, by a 21-year-old driver who crossed the double yellow line after sending two text messages — and who told police she did not remember what led up to the crash. A 199-page police report later: traffic citations only, no felony charges. No LANL press release, no national coverage — Leonard appears on no official “missing scientists” list.
Two Crashes, One Pattern
| Factor | Leonard — Feb 27, 2024 | McMillan — Sep 6, 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Road | NM-501 (LANL truck route) | NM-502 (East Road, to the lab) |
| Mechanism | Driver crossed the double yellow line | Driver crossed the double yellow line |
| Other driver | Female, 21 | Female, 22 |
| Driver’s account | “Did not remember” the lead-up | “Did not remember” the lead-up |
| Police report | 199 pages | 293 pages |
| Felony charges | None | DA: “insufficient evidence” |
| Outcome | 2 traffic citations | 3 petty misdemeanors · $1,500 · suspended jail |
| Victim’s role | Nuclear weapons explosives expert | Nuclear weapons oversight authority |
13 Scientists Dead or Missing
Deceased
The lab that spun out Commonwealth Fusion (Mumgaard's company).
Missing
Nuno Loureiro directed MIT's Plasma Science and Fusion Center, the lab that spun out Commonwealth Fusion Systems. He was shot at home Dec 15–16, 2025. Three months later, Commonwealth Fusion's CEO Bob Mumgaard was named to PCAST. Two months after that, PCAST member companies received 20 metric tons of weapons-grade plutonium.