A former officer with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been sentenced to a decade in jail for his role in accepting gifts in exchange for spying on behalf of China.
The punishment for Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, who hails from Honolulu, Hawaii, was given on Wednesday September 11. The former government agent pleaded guilty in May to accepting gifts—including money—from China to provide intelligence to America’s long-time rival. The 71-year-old was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Specifically, Ma was accused of conspiracy, gathering, and providing information about the country’s national defense to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). As detailed in a press release from the Department of Justice (DOJ), Ma was first arrested in August 2020. At this time, he confessed to an undercover agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that he shared classified defense information with officials in Chinese government’s State Security Bureau.
The retired agent worked with the CIA between 1982 and 1989. A co-conspirator who helped with the spying scheme (and was also a blood relative of Ma’s) worked for the agency longer, between 1967 and 1983. According to the DOJ, both suspects had access to classified information via top secret security clearances and had each signed nondisclosure agreements.
The May 2024 plea agreement submitted by Ma revealed that he was contacted by the Chinese government to meet with him and his co-conspirator. This communication took place in March 2001, and the two men colluded with the Chinese officials for three days in Hong Kong. A hefty amount of classified information was handed over to the Chinese agents in exchange for $50,000 in cash. The two conspirators agreed to continue working with the foreign officials.
Ma was given a job two years later with the Honolulu field office of the FBI. The American agency reportedly suspected illegal interactions between the American and the Chinese officials and secretly used Ma’s new position to monitor his communications with the Chinese agency.
According to the DOJ, Ma admitted that he had full knowledge and intent when he and his relative conspired to share classified information with the Chinese government that would either benefit the PRC or even be used against America. As part of the former CIA agent’s plea agreement, he must cooperate with United States authorities for the rest of his life, including providing information to federal agencies via debriefings.
