A former defense intelligence officer was arrested Saturday for attempting to sell U. S. defense information to the Chinese government, the Department of Justice said…
A former defense intelligence officer was arrested Saturday for attempting to sell U. S. defense information to the Chinese government, the Department of Justice said Monday.
Ron Rockwell Hansen, 58, of Syracuse, Utah, held a Top Secret clearance for many years at the Defense Intelligence Agency, which provides information to policy makers and others at the Department of Defense. He was arrested Saturday afternoon at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport while trying to flee the United States for China.
Between 2013 and 2017, Mr. Hansen is alleged to have provided information he learned while attending military and intelligence conferences in the U. S. to contacts associated with the Chinese government, according to court documents. He also improperly sold export-controlled technology to people in China, the Justice Department said. Mr. Hansen is alleged to have received $800,000 in funds from China for the information.
Prosecutors said Mr. Hansen caught law enforcement’s attention after he repeatedly attempted to access classified information after leaving the government.
