A 67-year-old former CIA officer and FBI linguist was arrested Friday after allegedly selling U.S. government secrets to China for thousands of dollars spanning multiple years, court documents unsealed Monday reveal.
Alexander Yuk Ching Ma was formally charged with conspiracy to communicate national defense information to assist a foreign government, the Justice Department said in a press release. If convicted, he’ll face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
“This serious act of espionage is another example in a long string of illicit activities that the People's Republic of China is conducting within and against the United States,” Alan Kohler Jr., assistant director of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division said in a statement, echoing recently increasing sentiments of government and Trump administration officials accusing China of national and trade secret theft.
A naturalized U.S. citizen born in Hong Kong, Ma worked for the CIA from 1982 to 1989 as an officer trained “in methods of covert communication, surveillance detection, and operational security” to conduct authorized intelligence activities in the U.S., according to an affidavit filed in the case. He held a top secret clearance at the time.
After that, Ma worked for a stint in Shanghai, China, and prosecutors say he began a decade-long scheme in 2001 to share classified national defense and security details with Chinese intelligence officials. Ma allegedly initially provided information regarding the CIA’s personnel, operations, and methods of concealing communications during meetings in Hong Kong in March of that year, one of which Justice officials confirmed was caught on a videotape tha ..
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