CNN —A former CIA officer arrested for espionage has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for conspiring to provide classified information to Chinese intelligence officials, according to the US Department of Justice.
Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, 71, of Honolulu, had arranged for himself and a relative, who also previously worked for the CIA, to meet with Chinese security officers in Hong Kong and provide classified material in exchange for $50,000, according to his plea agreement.
Ma pleaded guilty in May.
Ma was later the target of an FBI undercover operation after applying to work as a linguist at the bureau’s Honolulu field office.
During the course of his monitored employment with the FBI, Ma allegedly took a digital camera into the FBI office to photograph sensitive documents that he would then take to his handlers in China.
Persons:
CNN —, Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, Ma, Salina Kanai
Organizations:
CNN, CIA, US Department of Justice, FBI, People’s, DOJ, Justice Department
Locations:
Honolulu, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China, China, Salina, United States