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Indian in US sentenced for selling stealth tech to China
(RTTNews) - A federal court in the U.S. state of Hawaii has sentenced Noshir Gowadia, an India-born U.S. engineer, to 32 years in prison for selling sensitive information relating to advanced stealth cruise missile technology to China.
Handing down the sentence, Chief U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway said on Monday that Gowadia had violated "his oath of loyalty" to the United States with his actions and "was found guilty of marketing valuable technology to foreign countries for personal gain."
The prosecution expressed disappointment over the court's failure to hand down a life sentence to Gowadia in line with their demand. However, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson told reporters that the "32 years is stiff and in many ways an appropriate sentence" for the accused.
"We're confident the message is sent that when you compromise US national security, when you disclose national defense secrets, when you profit by US national defense information, that you will be punished, you will be pursued, you will be convicted," Sorenson told reporters.
In earlier hearings, the prosecution had accused Gowadia of traveling to China several times between 2003 and 2005 with the intention of selling the stealth cruise missile technology which he had helped in developing.
They alleged that the engineer received about $110,000 for passing on the sensitive information to China, which he used to pay off a mortgage on a luxury home on the island of Maui. The prosecution's claim was rejected by defense lawyers, who argued that the information their client had provided was unclassified and freely available.
Gowadia had served as an engineer with Northrop Grumman Corporation from 1968 to 1986. During his time at the company, he had played an important role in developing the propulsion system and the low detectable capabilities of the B-2 stealth bomber.
Following his 1968-86 employment at the Northrop Grumman Corporation, Gowadia continued to work as a contractor for the U.S. Government on classified projects until 1997 when his security clearance was terminated.
He was arrested in October 2005 for allegedly selling U.S. military secrets relating to advanced stealth cruise missile technology to China, which in turn helped Beijing to design its own stealth cruise missile.
He was convicted in August last year of 14 charges including communicating national defense information to help a foreign nation, violation of the arms export control act, as well as several counts of money-laundering and tax fraud.
(RTTNews) - A federal court in the U.S. state of Hawaii has sentenced Noshir Gowadia, an India-born U.S. engineer, to 32 years in prison for selling sensitive information relating to advanced stealth cruise missile technology to China.
Handing down the sentence, Chief U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway said on Monday that Gowadia had violated "his oath of loyalty" to the United States with his actions and "was found guilty of marketing valuable technology to foreign countries for personal gain."
The prosecution expressed disappointment over the court's failure to hand down a life sentence to Gowadia in line with their demand. However, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson told reporters that the "32 years is stiff and in many ways an appropriate sentence" for the accused.
"We're confident the message is sent that when you compromise US national security, when you disclose national defense secrets, when you profit by US national defense information, that you will be punished, you will be pursued, you will be convicted," Sorenson told reporters.
In earlier hearings, the prosecution had accused Gowadia of traveling to China several times between 2003 and 2005 with the intention of selling the stealth cruise missile technology which he had helped in developing.
They alleged that the engineer received about $110,000 for passing on the sensitive information to China, which he used to pay off a mortgage on a luxury home on the island of Maui. The prosecution's claim was rejected by defense lawyers, who argued that the information their client had provided was unclassified and freely available.
Gowadia had served as an engineer with Northrop Grumman Corporation from 1968 to 1986. During his time at the company, he had played an important role in developing the propulsion system and the low detectable capabilities of the B-2 stealth bomber.
Following his 1968-86 employment at the Northrop Grumman Corporation, Gowadia continued to work as a contractor for the U.S. Government on classified projects until 1997 when his security clearance was terminated.
He was arrested in October 2005 for allegedly selling U.S. military secrets relating to advanced stealth cruise missile technology to China, which in turn helped Beijing to design its own stealth cruise missile.
He was convicted in August last year of 14 charges including communicating national defense information to help a foreign nation, violation of the arms export control act, as well as several counts of money-laundering and tax fraud.