Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, a former CIA officer, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for spying for the Chinese government. Ma, 71, was arrested in August 2020 after confessing to an undercover FBI agent that he sold U.S. secrets to China. Born in Hong Kong, Ma later became a U.S. citizen.

Ma served in the CIA from 1982 to 1989 and later worked for the FBI. As part of his plea agreement, he must continue cooperating with U.S. authorities for the rest of his life, including undergoing debriefings and polygraph tests, as reported by the Associated Press. During his sentencing on Wednesday, prosecutors highlighted Ma’s cooperation, noting he had participated in multiple interviews with government agents.

Prosecutors revealed that Ma worked with a relative, who was also a former CIA officer, to pass U.S. secrets to Chinese intelligence officers from the Shanghai State Security Bureau. In one recorded meeting in Hong Kong, Ma was seen counting $50,000 he had received in exchange for the classified information.

In 2004, while living in Hawaii, Ma took a job as a contract linguist at the FBI’s Honolulu office. However, the FBI already knew about his espionage activities and hired him as part of an undercover operation to monitor his contacts.

Ma’s co-conspirator in the operation, his brother, passed away before he could be prosecuted. As part of his plea deal, Ma will serve 10 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.

FBI Honolulu Special Agent-in-Charge Steven Merrill stated, “Let it be a message to anyone else thinking of doing the same. No matter how long it takes, or how much time passes, you will be brought to justice.”

Image source: Economic Times