Ex-FBI tech sentenced to 2 years in China spy case

A former technician for the FBI who pleaded guilty in August to charges of acting as an agent of the Chinese government and passing sensitive information was sentenced on Friday to 2 years in prison and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine in federal court in Manhattan.

Kun Shan Chun, 47, also known as “Joey Chun,” who worked for the FBI since 1997 and had a top-secret clearance, was accused of passing an FBI organizational chart and pictures of sensitive technology, along with other information.

But prosecutors said he took steps to alter information to limit the damage to the United States from his leaks while currying favor with China. He was recruited through a Chinese company in which a relative had an ownership stake and prosecutors said he was motivated by “financial benefits.”

Chun “was supposed to work to protect and serve the American people,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement after the sentencing. “But instead he acted as a secret agent for China.”