DoD officer faces espionage charges

A Defense Department insider has been indicted for espionage, with the government charging that he stole classified documents from Pentagon computers, and allegedly sold the information to an agent with the People's Republic of China (PRC).

The unsealed federal indictment said James Wilbur Fondren provided classified documents to Tai Shen Kuo, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Taiwan and working under the direction of a PRC government official.

Fondren, 62, was deputy director for the U.S. Pacific Command (PACOM) Washington Liaison Office from August 2001 until February 11, 2008. A court affidavit said Fondren sold Kuo information that included data about a joint U.S.-PRC naval exercise, and information regarding U.S.-PRC military meetings, all of which was classified.

"The allegations in this case are troubling. Providing classified information to a foreign agent of the People's Republic of China is a real and serious threat to our national security," said Dana Boente, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

For more on this espionage case:
- see this SC Magazine article