By Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, a 71-year-old former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer, was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison for conspiring to gather and deliver classified national defense information to the People’s Republic of China.
Ma, arrested in August 2020, admitted to an undercover FBI employee that he had facilitated the provision of classified information to intelligence officers of China’s Shanghai State Security Bureau (SSSB).
Court documents reveal that Ma worked for the CIA from 1982 to 1989. A blood relative, identified as co-conspirator #1 (CC #1), also worked for the CIA from 1967 to 1983. Both held Top Secret security clearances and signed nondisclosure agreements.
In March 2001, Ma and CC #1 met with SSSB intelligence officers in Hong Kong. During three days of meetings, CC #1 provided classified U.S. national defense information in exchange for $50,000. They agreed to continue assisting the SSSB.
Ma later applied for a job as a contract linguist at the FBI’s Honolulu Field Office in 2003. The FBI, aware of Ma’s ties to Chinese intelligence, hired him as part of a ruse to monitor his activities. Ma worked part-time for the FBI from August 2004 to October 2012.
In February 2006, Ma convinced CC #1 to identify at least two individuals from photographs for the SSSB, compromising classified information.
Ma confessed to knowingly conspiring with CC #1 and SSSB officers to communicate information that would harm the United States or benefit China.
The government noted that Ma’s conviction for years-long espionage caused substantial investigative resources to be expended. Ma’s role was to facilitate information exchange between CC #1 and the SSSB, involving classified CIA information from 1967 to 1983.
Under the plea agreement, Ma must cooperate with the U.S. government for life, including submitting to debriefings. Government counsel reported that Ma has been cooperative and participated in multiple interview sessions with agents.
In addition to the 10-year prison term, Ma faces five years of supervised release.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen, U.S. Attorney Clare E. Connors, and FBI Executive Assistant Director Robert Wells announced the sentencing.
The FBI’s Honolulu and Los Angeles Field Offices investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ken Sorenson and Craig Nolan, along with Trial Attorneys Scott Claffee and Leslie Esbrook of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, prosecuted the case.
This sentencing underscores ongoing concerns about espionage threats to U.S. national security, particularly from China. It also highlights the long-term nature of counterintelligence investigations and the potential vulnerabilities within intelligence agencies.
Credit: DOJ
