WASHINGTON – Former US intelligence officer Ron Hansen has been jailed forten years for attempting to sell military secrets to China, the JusticeDepartment said in a press release.
“A former Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) officer, who pleaded guilty inMarch to attempting to communicate, deliver, or transmit informationinvolving the national defense of the United States to the People’sRepublic of China, will serve 10 years in federal prison”, the release saidon Tuesdaylink.
In 2018, the release added, the 60-year old Utah man was arrested on hisway to catch a flight from Seattle to China with possession of secretmilitary information.
Hansen in his plea agreement said agents of a Chinese intelligence servicetargeted him for recruitment in early 2014, and he began meeting with themregularly in China. Hansen also said that in 2016 he began solicitingnational security informationlinkfroma DIA case officer on behalf of Beijing, Sputnik has reported.
In the course of his relationship with the Chinese agents, Hansen receivedhundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation for information heprovided, according to the Justice Department.
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Hansen was one of three former US intelligence officers recently convictedof acting on behalf of China, the release said.
According to the DoJ, “Hansen retired from the U.S. Army as a WarrantOfficer with a background in signals intelligence and human intelligence.He speaks fluent Mandarin-Chinese and Russian, according to courtdocuments. Upon retiring from active duty, DIA hired Hansen as a civilianintelligence case officer in 2006. Hansen held a Top Secret clearance formany years, and signed several non-disclosure agreements during his tenureat DIA and as a government contractor”.
