A former agent of the CIA, the United States’ main intelligence service, was sentenced on Wednesday to 10 years in prison for espionage on behalf of China, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.

Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, 71, pleaded guilty in May to participating in a “conspiracy to gather and deliver information related to U.S. national defense” to China.

He was arrested in August 2020 after confessing to an undercover FBI agent that he had facilitated the transfer of classified information to Chinese intelligence services, the Justice Department clarified.

Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, a former CIA officer and contract linguist for the FBI who received cash, golf clubs and other expensive gifts in exchange for spying for China, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Ma is also required to submit to polygraph tests, whenever requested… https://t.co/BB7215jDcx pic.twitter.com/jD0aI0vIgW

— Byron Wan (@Byron_Wan) September 11, 2024

Ma worked for the CIA from 1982 to 1989, and a family member also worked for the agency from 1967 to 1983.

According to court documents, Chinese intelligence agencies approached Ma in 2001, requesting a meeting with his relative—who has since passed away. During a hotel meeting in Hong Kong, both provided classified information in exchange for $50,000 in cash.

He was a former CIA officer, yet he was also a Chinese spy. His name is Alexander Yuk Ching Ma (Chinese name 马玉清). He faced life imprisonment sentence following his arrest in 2020, but he cut a deal to reduce it to 10 yrs. Today is his sentencing day. https://t.co/nyC51QPLGT pic.twitter.com/u2Jxgv1FS6

— Bin Xie__The Great Translation Movement (@bxieus) September 11, 2024

In 2003, Ma applied for a position as a translator at the FBI’s office in Hawaii, where he was living at the time. The FBI, “aware of Ma’s connections to Chinese espionage,” hired him in order to monitor his activities. He was employed part-time by the FBI from August 2004 to October 2012, according to the Department of Justice.