A Chinese-born engineer was sentenced Monday to more than 15 years in prison for hoarding sensitive information about the U.S. space shuttle that prosecutors say he intended to share with China.
The case against Dongfan "Greg" Chung was the United States' first trial on economic espionage charges. The 74-year-old former Boeing Co. engineer was convicted in July of six counts of economic espionage and other federal charges for keeping 300,000 pages of sensitive papers in his home.
Before sentencing Chung, U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney said he didn't know exactly what information Chung passed to China. "But what I do know is what he did, and what he did pass, hurt our national security and it hurt Boeing," the judge said.
Carney said Chung's scheme with the Chinese government spanned 30 years.
During brief remarks, Chung begged the judge to give him a lenient sentence. He spoke from a podium while wearing a tan prison jumpsuit with his hands cuffed to a belly chain.
‘I am not a spy’
"Your honor, I am not a spy, I am only an ordinary man," he said, adding that he had brought the Boeing documents home to write a book.
"Your honor, I love this country. ... Your honor, I beg your pardon and let me live with my family peacefully."
Despite Chung's age, prosecutors requested a 20-year sentence, in part to send a message to other would-be spies.
But the judge said he couldn't put a value on the amount of information that Chung stole and couldn't determine exactly how much the breaches hurt Boeing and the nation. He also cited the engineer's age and frail health in going with a sentence of 15 years and eight months.
"It's very difficult having to make a decision where someone is going to have to spend the rest of their adult life in prison," Carney said. "I take no comfort or satisfaction in that."
Amassed personal wealth
Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Staples noted in sentencing papers that Chung amassed a personal wealth of more than $3 million while betraying his adopted country.
"The (People's Republic of China) is bent on stealing sensitive information from the United States and shows no sign of relenting," Staples wrote. "Only strong sentences offer any hope of dissuading others from helping the PRC get that technology."