US: 30 years in prison for soldier who attempted to spy for Russia

AFP reported that the US Department of Justice said on February 10 that a former US soldier was sentenced to 30 years in prison for attempting to spy for Russia.

Virginia prosecutors said that in September and October 2012, Robert Hoffman, now 40, who served 20 years in the US Navy, passed classified defense information to FBI agents he believed were Russian.

Robert Hoffman (left) was arrested in December 2012. (Source: AP)

“By attempting to hand over military secrets, Robert Hoffman put members of the U.S. military and the nation at risk,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Carlin.

Hoffman was arrested in December 2012, tried in the spring of 2013, and convicted after a five-day trial in Virginia.

On three separate occasions, the soldier transferred classified, top secret and sensitive information stored on a USB memory stick into a hole in a tree under prior agreement to FBI agents posing as foreign spies./.

According to VNA